Warned
by Axrat
Summary: Riku's in Hyrule's Twilight Realm, avoiding everyone and everything, still haunted by Leera's words: 'You'll kill Kairi'. Sora, Roxas and Tara are in Hyrule, to find out what Hannah said would 'unfold' for them once they arrived...
1. Keybladers in Hyrule

Author's notes: Here's the first chapter of Warned, the fourth installment of the Keyblader Trio series. Just a bit of an orientation chapter for you all, but enjoy never the less.

**Warned**

Tara stood in the tree above the Lizalfos, watching as it struck the trunk again and again. She tried to figure out what to do. She went through the list of objects in her bag. Her DS, her Phantom Hourglass and Twilight Princess collector's edition strategy guides, a hooded jumper, her ocarina…

Wait a moment!

Tara pulled out the small, blue instrument, slinging the bag back onto her back. She raised the ocarina to her lips and began to play a song she knew all to well from Ocarina of Time, Majora's Mask and Twilight Princess…

* * *

Sora watched from where he sat on the small slope as Link circled the paddock, herding the Ordon Goats, goats with a grayish purple coat and oddly shaped horns, around the yard. Sora had used a Cura spell on himself without telling Uli, and pretended to still be in a little pain if he moved too quickly. He didn't want to be rude, after all. And the red potion Link had offered him had helped, too.

The farmer Link worked with continued to dart out of the way of the running goats. Suddenly, Epona, the chestnut mare upon which Link rode, halted and pricked her ears up.

"What is it, girl?" Link whispered, patting the side of the horse's neck. Suddenly, the horse bucked, sending Link sprawling off of her and onto the grass. Epona took off, jumping the gate and charging through the town. Link got up and gave chase. Fado stood there with his hand on his forehead in shock.

* * *

Tara watched as the chestnut mare appeared on the fields, galloping towards her. As Epona approached, it gave a hard kick to the humanoid lizard, and then eyed Tara apprehensively. Tara played the song again, and Epona shifted so that she could climb into the saddle. Tara put her ocarina away, then carefully climbed out of the tree and into the saddle as the Lizalfos began to get up. Tara grabbed the reins and gave them a flick while giving Epona a light kick on the sides. She then gripped the horse's mane as it began galloping away. Tara only used the reins to steer the horse in the direction she knew Ordon Village to be.

* * *

"Ilia's going to kill me." Link groaned as he climbed back over the gate into the paddock. Fado gave him a pat on the shoulder.

"Did you try the whistle?" He asked.

"Yeah. Epona didn't return." Link answered, and then sat down beside Sora, watching the goats run. A minute later, the chestnut mare dubbed Epona jumped the fence, a pale-faced brunette girl clutching onto the horse's mane for dear life. She promptly brought Epona to a stop and climbed down. The moment her feet met the ground she collapsed. Link and Fado were both frozen in shock. Sora laughed. He couldn't help himself, after all, seeing Tara ride in on Link's horse, looking a bit shaken, was a little bit amusing.

Link finally seemed to recover from the initial shock and walked over to Tara, offering her a hand. "Are you okay?"

"I'm alive." Tara answered, taking his hand. The green-clad teenager pulled her to her feet.

"How did you call Epona away from me, anyway?"

"Oh, sorry," Tara apologized, "I had a Lizalfos chasing me up a tree… I wasn't sure what else to do."

"Okay… but how did you call her?"

Tara put her bag on the ground and pulled out her ocarina. She stood and raised the instrument to her lips, before beginning to play Epona's Song on it once more. Epona whinnied as she began to play. This time Tara played the song, she continued to play it the entire way though; the entire tune Malon sang in Ocarina of Time. When she finished, Link was, needless to say, shocked.

"Wh-where did you learn that tune?" He asked. Not only had she played what he did to call Epona, she played the _entire thing, _which he had not formerly heard, but it seemed so familiar to him…

"It's a long story. You wouldn't understand a word of it." Tara answered, putting the ocarina away. Sora laughed.

"Too true."

Link looked over at him.

"If you understand a quarter of what Tara says, you are either lucky, or her friend Sarah." Sora told him. Link laughed nervously. This was going to be fun…

* * *

"Why do you want my radio?" Sora asked. They were sitting on the floor in Link's house. He had allowed them to stay there until they found somewhere to go to.

"Newsflash!" Tara pulled her laptop out of her backpack. "Fully charged. You said Roxas isn't answering, well, I took the liberty of planting a tracker on yours, Roxas's and Riku's radios one night, with the help of some stuff Cid sent me, of course, so, if I hook your radio up to the program Cid gave me…" Tara logged onto the computer and, using a cord she had also produced from her bag, hooked the radio up to the laptop computer. A small window popped up.

"And now to open the map of the Hyrule in the era of Twilight, as I like to call it," she muttered. A map titled 'MAP OF HYRULE – Twilight Era' appeared in the window. Three dots showed on there. One was at the bottom of the map. "That's you." She pointed to the gold dot. Towards the north was a blue dot. "There's Roxas." A purple dot flickered in and out in what looked like a barren wasteland. "What the hell…" She squinted. "That's where the coliseum is… where the portal to the Twilight Realm is, even if it can't be opened any more… why would Riku be in the Twilight Realm?" She pondered. Sora wasn't sure what she was talking about, but she knew where Riku was…

"Where is he?" Sora asked.

"The Twilight Realm, where the Twilis live." Tara paused. "Y'know, Roxas is a lucky bastard. He's up in Zora's Domain with the peaceful fish-people, and we got attacked by monsters."

Sora laughed. "Just our luck."

They both looked up as the door opened. Tara quickly closed the laptop and put it away, hidden by her hooded jumper. Link walked into the room a moment later.

"The raven came back." Sora lied.

"Do you know where your friend is, then?" Link asked.

"Zora's Domain." Tara answered.

"That's on the other side of Hyrule…" Link muttered. "You'd have to go-"

"-Up to South Hyrule Field, into Castle Town, out the east gate, then north to North Hyrule Field and then north to Zora's domain." Tara finished. Link went through the route in his head.

"Well… yeah, that's probably better than going over the Lake Hylia bridge…"

"Archers." Tara commented.

"Yeah… we'll run into monsters no matter what, but Castle would be a good place to rest."

Tara hummed. "Hey, is there an extra bow anywhere I could use?" She asked.

"Not that I'm aware of."

"Damn it. I'm actually not half-bad at archery."

Link grabbed something off a shelf and tossed it to her. She caught the small item; a wooden, toy slingshot.

"You serious?" She looked at him.

"Would I have tossed it to you if I wasn't? The targets are set up outside."

Tara was up and out of the room in a split second.

* * *

Later that day they set out for Zora's Domain. Link left Epona with Ilia, since the mare wouldn't be able to carry all of them. Tara seemed to love using the slingshot to shoot rocks into the air and then catch them again.

The walk seemed slow – Link would very much have rather ridden on horse back. They had started around mid-day and it the sun was setting by the time they reached Castle Town.

"Ah, Hero Link!"

Link looked up as a guard darted up to them, just as they walked up the steps towards the south gate.

"What is it?" He asked.

"The entire town's in an uproar! We've tried to calm them, but they refuse!"

"What has happened?" Link asked him.

"It's the Princess… she's missing! She just up and vanished a couple days ago!"

Link paused. "I'll find her for you." He assured the guard.

"We'll help you." Sora added in.

"No." Link shook his head. "Saving Hyrule is my responsibility and mine alone."

"You had help." Tara reminded him. "Midna helped you the entire way through your journey." Link looked at her. This girl was shocking. She knew _everything _about him, it seemed. He remembered what Sora had said about her answers making no sense so he didn't ask at all. Instead, he turned to the guard.

"Is there safe lodging in Castle Town for us?"

"Always for the Hero and his friends!" The guard answered. "Come, I will escort you to the castle." He turned and led them through the gates.

The cobblestone streets were crammed fuller than usual. People yelled and shouted, but as Link and co. passed, a silence fell over the crowd.

"It's the hero!" Shouted one person. Link didn't respond.

The gate to the castle was in the town square, where an intricate fountain was located. The water in it was crystal clean and pure. Tara looked at the water feature as they passed it, walking towards the gate.

"The water comes straight from Lake Hylia, which is fed from Zora's Domain and the Zora's River." She told Sora.

"Roxas is in Zora's Domain, isn't he?"

"Yep." Tara answered.

* * *

They didn't stay in Castle Town any longer than need be. Early the next morning, before the town had awoken, the trio had left via the east gate and continued north. Tara took the opportunity to teach Sora about the general facts about Hyrule.

"We came from the southern most area, the Ordon Province, watched over by the Spirit Ordona, who takes on the form of an Ordon Goat. Castle Town is in the center of Hyrule, and just east of that is Lake Hylia. Go north to get to Zora's Domain. West of Castle Town is another section of Hyrule Field. That's all in the Lanayru Province, watched over by the Spirit Lanayru who takes on the appearance of a serpent. Remember that forest we passed through when we left Ordon? The Faron Woods? That's the Faron Province, watched over by the Spirit Faron, who takes the form of a monkey of some sort. Then there's Kakariko Village and Death Mountain, in the Eldin Province. The Spirit Eldin takes the form of an owl." She explained. "Their names resemble that of the three Goddesses, Din, Nayru and Farore… although Farore is missing an e…" She paused. "Then there's the Gerudo Desert to the far east, and the northern most area, Snowpeak, neither of which have Light Spirits. The entrance to Snowpeak is through Zora's Domain."

"Where's the entrance to the Twilight Realm?" Sora asked her.

Link, who must've been listening in, stopped suddenly. "There isn't one. The Twilight Princess destroyed it." He turned to look at Sora. "Why do you wish to know this?"

"My brother's there."

"I'm sorry." Link turned away and continued on. Sora looked at Tara for an explanation.

"The Twilight Realm is where those who are condemned for having brought evil to Hyrule are sent to by the Goddesses and the Six Sages." She told Sora.

"Why is Riku there?"

"Maybe the Sages feared his darkness and requested that he be sent to the Twilight Realm." Tara suggested.

"Who is the Twilight Princess?"

Tara laughed. "Not Leera."

"Wait, you know who Leera is? How?"

"I talked to Hannah." Tara answered. Sora sighed. He should've known.

"We're nearly there." Link called back to them.

* * *

Roxas stared up at the sun, which was now high in the sky, as he floated on his back in the calm waters of Zora's Domain. It seemed so peaceful here… He had to wonder why the place even had warriors.

"Roxas!"

Roxas moved to tread water and glanced around. On a piece of land stood Sora, Tara and a strange teen garbed in a green tunic and hat. The latter of the three was talking to Prince Ralis, who had come up out of the water to chat to the unfamiliar swordsman. Roxas swam over to them and hauled himself onto dry land.

"Thought you guys would show up, did yah?" He asked teasingly.

"You lucky bastard." Sora laughed as the two clutched each other's right hands. "We end up getting attacked by monsters, and you end up in paradise!"

"What happened to you two?" Roxas laughed at him.

"I got knocked unconscious and repeatedly hit with a club."

"I got run up a tree by a large, humanoid lizard called a Lizalfos!" Tara added in. Roxas shook his head.

"You're an unlucky bunch."

"Tell me about it." Sora shook his head. He then paused. "I know where Riku is…"

"Sora, just let him be." Roxas sighed. "He has all right to leave. Especially if the lies Leera's been feeding him are pissing him off."

"Yeah, I know…" Sora looked down. Roxas's lips formed a thin line.

"You'll get to see him again soon."

"I hope you're right."


	2. Death is selfish

**Warned**

"So," Tara began, "what are you going to do now, Link? With Princess Zelda missing and all…" She asked him. The Hero of Time bit his lip.

"I don't know." He confessed with a shrug. "I've got to find her before all of Hyrule falls into disarray, but I don't even know where to start."

The group of four was sitting on the dry area surrounding the inside of the throne room area Roxas had woken up on, just chatting back and forth.

Sora looked over at Roxas, who had his eyes closed, looking almost entirely peaceful. Sora tilted his head.

"Roxas, what's up?"

"Can't you feel it, Sora?" Roxas asked in return. "The high levels of Twilight in the area… even more so than at the World that Never Was, or in Twilight Town."

Sora looked over at Link, who frowned harshly. "That's not a good thing. Last time Twilight engulfed Hyrule Zant and Ganondorf tried taking over."

"That wasn't completely neutral Twilight, I suspect." Tara commented. "And Ganondorf is nowhere near Twilight. He is as bad as, if not worse than, Xehanort himself."

Sora shuddered visibly, and Roxas cringed. Neither could imagine something _worse _than Xehanort.

"Actually, if I'm not mistaken, it's because of Ganon that Hyrule becomes the Great Sea…" Tara frowned. Link looked over at her questioningly. "Don't worry; you'll be long dead by then." She assured him. Link nodded slowly.

"Riiight…"

"Actually… does that even happen in this timeline… or is it the other one? Oh I don't know! It's one of them. Wait…" She stood up. "Is this the adult timeline or the child timeline?" She gripped onto her hair. "SHIT! I DUNNO!"

Sora and Roxas both smacked their foreheads.

"I'm not going to ask." Link muttered.

Sora and Roxas jumped as static suddenly started hissing over their radios; Sora's was stored in his pendant, Roxas's in his wristband, all via magic.

"_How are you two?" _

Sora's radio materialized in his hand. He knew that voice. It sounded weak, or maybe coarse, but whatever it was, it didn't sound normal.

"Riku?" Sora called over the radio. "Riku, where are you?"

"_The Palace of Twilight, or at least, that's what the locals call it." _

"In the Twilight Realm." Tara rolled her eyes.

"_Word coming through is that you guys aren't actually far, just in the other realm. Look, Sora, something's gone wrong in the Spirit World. I don't know what, Fate's not telling me anything. Apparently some of the spirits are escaping, too. She did mention a couple Organization XIII members, though." _

Sora groaned. "I really don't want to fight them again…"

"_Hey, it's only a few so far, she said. Look, just keep an eye out. Don't want ignorance being the death of you." _

"Thanks, Riku."

The static stopped, and Sora's radio vanished.

"What was that thing?" Link asked.

"Just some magic from my home," Sora answered him. "Not Hyrule native stuff." Link nodded and decided not to question it anymore.

"Ah, Keyblade Master, there you are."

Sora looked up, and Tara screamed, darting behind Link.

"Oh shit." Roxas swore.

"And Roxas too! Hey, kid, I still think you shouldn't have left us."

"Oh go fuck off, Xigbar." Roxas growled, getting to his feet. Sora and Link had already done so.

"That's strong language for such a youngster." Xigbar looked at Sora, then at Roxas. "Why are you two years younger than him?"

"You've been dead two years." Roxas answered.

"Ah, really? Such a shame."

"If I remember correctly, I beat you once before." Sora growled.

"I had an epic fail… ten times in a row…" Tara commented.

"Hey, I'm not going to kill you _yet_. But watch out, next time, you may not be so lucky, kid." Xigbar turned and began to leave through a portal.

"Wait!" Roxas called. Xigbar looked over his shoulder. "Who all is free?"

"If I was just any old dude, I'd tell yah, but because I'm not, you've gotta go find out on your own."

And with that, Xigbar was gone.

Roxas kicked a rock into the wall. It rebounded off with a loud CLACK and hit the water, skipping twice before sinking.

"Well, Axel being Reno, no doubt Axel's gotten free, too…"

"I wonder if Rachael's free." Sora wondered out loud. "I know Riku would be glad if she was…"

"Time will tell." Tara answered with a shrug. Suddenly, she grabbed the slingshot and pebble from her pocket and loaded the weapon. Sora looked at her, trying to figure out why she was aiming at him. Suddenly, she let the pebble fly, hitting a Shadow behind Sora. The Keyblade Master jumped, nearly falling into the water as he did so.

"Okay… Heartless in Hyrule… the dead are waking… I reckon we've got a bit of a problem on our hands…"

* * *

Riku stared up at the black sky. This place seemed to suit him much more than the islands… it was all Twilight, which would make it easy living for both a Princess of Heart and the person with the blackest heart in all the worlds. The Twilis were human-like, but they had skin much like Midna's; a pitch black and a deathly white. They also had green patterns somewhere on their bodies, like Midna had on her arms.

"Come inside, it's going to get cold, and I don't want to be here when the remnants of Ganondorf's forces start coming out." Midna said in an almost teasing tone.

"I'll be fine." Riku answered tonelessly. Midna frowned. All he ever did was stand out here alone. "Besides," he added, "if Heartless show up for me, I'm not going to lead them into your home. You've seen enough Darkness."

"What are Heartless?"

"Monsters of the Dark that eat hearts."

"Why would they come for you?"

"I once lost myself to the Darkness, and during that time, I commanded them. They hunger for strong-willed hearts, and only those with strong hearts can wield weapons like my own." Riku explained.

"The past is past, Hero of Darkness."

Riku looked over his shoulder. An entity of light, although wearing a black, medieval cloak, stood there. He hadn't seen her before, but her presence in the Realm of Twilight stood out like a sore thumb. Midna looked shocked.

"Princess Zelda? What… how are you here?"

"I do not know, Midna." Zelda, as Midna had dubbed her, spoke. Her tone was calm and sage-like, holding an immense amount of wisdom, although she was no older than Riku himself. "But I do know that Darkness is once again tainting the land of Hyrule, which has not been pure for centuries, ever since the last time the Picori race was called upon."

"Has Link noticed?"

"I do not know, but I'd assume that, by this point, he would've found out if the evil has reached Ordon once again."

"With all due respect, good and evil are only matters of perspective, Princess." Riku spoke up. "The Darkness looks at you and names you as evil. You look at the Darkness and name it as evil."

"You would know, would you?" Midna teased. Riku glared at her. He didn't care if she was a princess. He did not want problems with his past here.

"Midna," Zelda turned to her Twili counterpart, "let the past be the past. Just because someone was a certain way years ago does not mean they still are. You of all people would know that. After all, I seem to remember a certain imp treating the Blue-Eyed Beast as a servant."

Midna didn't answer. Riku couldn't help but smile.

"Midna, my sister,"

The group of three looked behind them.

"Leera, this is a surprise," Midna smiled as she turned to face the newcomer.

"Unfortunately this isn't under good circumstances. The Goddess Din has been defeated."

Both the Hylian princesses practically became solid blocks of ice.

"How do you know this?" Zelda questioned.

"The Light Spirit, Eldin, has fallen ill without the strength of the Goddess of Fire. The Demon of Destiny, Death, has taken her hostage. Nayru and Farore have found shelter with their sisters, the Decider and the Sage of Destiny for the time being."

"The Eldin Province is then…"

"Shrouded in Twilight." Leera nodded. "Not even the Hero of Time will be able to fix this by returning to the area." She then looked at Riku. "Thought you might come here, it's not a surprise, really." Leera's tone had changed from the calm, sage-like tone it had been to her normal tone. "I'd be careful if I were you. The mark Death left on you is spreading quickly."

"What about Sora?" Riku asked, remembering the mark left on his heart by Death.

"He might fall at any given time. But, if what Fate said is true, then he'll end up here before then. If you're lucky you'll get to say goodbye."

Riku laughed. "This is rich!" He exclaimed. Leera crossed her arms, not impressed. Riku began to pace as he, almost insanely, began to explain why it was, as he put it 'rich'. "First, you tell me that you're my daughter from the future. Then you tell me that your mother is Kairi, who is practically my younger brother's girlfriend. Then you tell me that I kill Kairi in front of you and your brother. Then you say that, ten years later, I transport you, your brother and your cousins into the past, and now you're saying that my brother is going to die within the next few days. This is just," he shook his head, "rich."

"If you want proof for the first part, ask Namine," Leera glared at him. "Okay, if you two," she motioned to Midna and Zelda, "want to talk to me about impending doom, then I'll be off in my room in the palace. I'm sick and tired of his sorry ass, excuse my language." She turned and walked off.

"I think she hates you." Midna commented.

"Nah, you think?" Riku rolled his eyes. He then sighed, and slumped to the ground. "Sora cannot die…" he lowered his head. "I can't let him die… he never let me die. I died twice… and he saved me twice." He felt a gentle hand place itself on his shoulder. He looked up into the calm face of Princess Zelda.

"You won't let your brother die, Prince of Darkness." She assured him. Riku stared up at her. Had she called him 'Prince' of Darkness? He was no prince. Not by a long shot. But he didn't correct her, out of respect if nothing else. "Your heart is strong. Don't let the demon inside taint it." Did she just refer to Xehanort? He stared at her in amazement. How did she know? He had never met her in his life! Without another word, the Hylian princess turned and walked into the palace. Riku stood up.

"I'll come inside in a moment." He told Midna, who nodded and walked inside. Riku's radio materialized in his hand, and he raised it to his mouth. "Sora, find your way to the area where the connection between Light and Twilight is strongest."

* * *

"What do you think he meant by that?" Roxas looked at Sora, who shook his head. Tara bit her lip.

"I got it! The coliseum!"

"Where?" Sora and Roxas asked.

"The Desert Coliseum." Link answered. "Before it was destroyed, there was a mirror that linked this world to the Twilight Realm. It was the only known portal between the two realms, but the Twilight Princess shattered it when she returned to her realm. You said your brother was in that realm, Sora," he nodded to the Keyblader, "so there is no way he can leave it."

"I wouldn't be so sure." Sora answered. He felt a pang in his chest, but ignored it. It wasn't hurting majorly, so he wasn't concerned about it right now. He stood up. "Where's the Desert Coliseum?"

"In the Gerudo Desert." Tara answered, "To the east, not that far south from Snowpeak…"she paused, "Hylian geography makes no sense!" She frowned.

"Well, then," Sora stood, "I guess we're going to the Gerudo Desert."

"You lot are insane." Link shook his head. "But, maybe I'll find some leads as to where Zelda went. I guess I'll tag along, although I think your friend here knows more than Shad does." He glanced at Tara, who smiled.

"Sometimes I think she knows more about me than I know about myself." Sora told Link.

"Actually, I do." Tara answered.

"…I'm not going to ask."

"Two words; Castle, Oblivion."

"Like I said, I'm not going to ask."


	3. Homeless Keybladers

**Warned**

"Hero of Darkness."

Riku looked over his shoulder. He had expected to see Zelda there, but there was a young woman wearing a green dress standing behind him. Her hair was green, done up in two buns on either side of her head. Wrapped around her legs were leather straps, intertwining and twisting together around her shins. She wore no shoes, and, to Riku, she almost seemed to be glowing.

"Who are you?"

"I'm the Goddess of Courage and Wind, Farore." She answered. "My sister, Din, the Goddess of Fire and Power, has been taken by a deity you'd be familiar with."

"Death."

Farore nodded. "Yes, Death. I need your help to save Din before Hyrule falls apart. Without her the planet would not exist, for she created the red earth from an asteroid field out in space."

"Huh. Well, do I really have a choice but to help you?" Riku crossed his arms.

"I guess not… but," Farore paused, "while I don't know much, I do know this, you won't be able to save Din alone. Find the help you need."

"Sora's coming here, I'm sure he'll be more than willing to help out." And knowing Tara, she wouldn't want the Hylian Deity to die.

"And the Hero of Time is with him, too. There is no doubt that The Juror of Courage will follow to save Din." Farore nodded.

"Farore," Riku began, "I'm curious, what are the creation stories of Hyrule?"

Farore smiled. "The stories are worded differently…"

* * *

"…but they all say pretty much the same thing." Tara told Sora and Roxas. They were walking across a bridge above a large lake below, Lake Hylia, as Tara had called it. "I'll tell you the two I know off by heart…

"'_Din... With her strong flaming arms, she cultivated the land and created the red earth. Nayru... Poured her wisdom onto the earth and gave the spirit of law to the world. Farore... With her rich soul, produced all life forms who would uphold the law '_

"And there's the longer, fancier version I know…

"'_According to the Hylian Scrolls, the mythical gods descended from a distant nebula to the world that was and created life_

'_The God of Power dyed the mountains red with fire and created land. The God of Wisdom created science and wizardry and brought order to nature. And the God of Courage, through justice and vigor, created life – the animals that crawl the land and the bids that soar in the sky._

' _After the gods had finished their work, they left the world, but not before creating a symbol of their strength, a golden triangle known as the Triforce. A small but powerful portion of the essence of the gods was held in this mighty artifact, which was to guide intelligent life on the world of Hyrule. _

'_Although it was an inanimate object, the Triforce had the power to bestow three titles which gave the person who received them great powers: 'The Forger of Strength,' 'The Keeper of Knowledge,' and 'The Juror of Courage.'_"

Sora whistled.

"Hey, Link," Tara glanced over at the green-clad Hero of Time, "do you think Impaz would know how to enter the Twilight Realm?" She asked. Link thought for a moment. Sure, Impaz seemed to know a lot about Hylian history… but…

"I guess it can't hurt."

Tara nodded. "Then, to the Hidden Village via the Bridge of Eldin?"

"To the Hidden Village." Link agreed.

* * *

The Hidden Village; a small, rundown town that looked like a ghost town from the old western movies. Nothing moved at all, except maybe a few stray cats. And of course, the small group wandering towards the house furthest back. Tara skipped ahead of the others, obviously excited to meet the person she had mentioned named Impaz. She stopped at the stairs to the porch, waiting for Link. After all, she didn't think it would be considered polite at all to just barge into the house when she hadn't even met the inhabitant. Link walked up to the door and knocked, before opening the door and stepping inside.

"Impaz?" He called.

"Ah, the young swordsman, you've returned."

"Hello, Impaz."

Impaz was short, and was dressed in what resembled a cross between a dress and a set of robes, complete with Hylian insignia.

"What brings you and your friends to the Hidden Village?" Impaz asked as Tara, Sora and Roxas slowly entered the house.

"We need help." Link answered, somewhat ashamedly.

"Do not be ashamed of asking for help, my dear boy. If you cannot confidently ask for help, then what courage do you possess? Pride comes from power, not courage, just as knowledge comes from wisdom, not power."

Link bowed his head in acknowledgement to the snippet of wisdom Impaz had shared.

"We need a way into the Sacred Realm." Tara spoke up. Impaz seemed surprised for a moment.

"These days no one speaks of it as the Sacred Realm."

"No one knows the truth any more." Tara responded.

"That is true, my child." Impaz nodded. "Tell me, do you know any of the old inscriptions?"

"_The rising sun will eventually set  
A newborn's life will fade.  
From sun to moon, moon to sun...  
Give peaceful rest to the living dead._

_Restless souls wander  
where they don't belong,  
bring them calm with  
the Sun's Song._" Tara recited. A smile spread onto Impaz's lips at the sound of the familiar inscriptions of Sharp the Elder and Younger.

"What of prophecies and lore?"

"_When evil rules all, an awakening voice from the Sacred Realm will call those destined to be Sages, who dwell in the five temples. Together with the Hero of Time, the awakened ones will bind the evil and return the light of peace to the world…_" Tara knew that Sheik was from the Adult Timeline, and this was the Child Timeline, but she wouldn't be surprised if Sheik's quotes were turned into prophecies. Impaz smiled.

"Those were passed down through the family of the Sheikha for many years. As the last living one of my kind, I am glad to hear that the stories won't fade away." Impaz smiled, then paused. "Child, as I cannot leave this town, would you please pass on the ancient stories and legends of the Sheikha to the Hylians, so that we are not forgotten?"

"Of course, Lady Impaz." Tara bowed. When she rose again, she paused. "Is the legend of the Blue Eyed Beast a Sheikha legend?"

Link stared at Tara in shock. Why would she ask Impaz tha-

"Yes, it was." Impaz answered.

Oh. Right…

"So the Sheikha were banished to the Twilight Realm?"

"All but those who remained loyal to the Royal Family."

"I thought so." Tara nodded.

"Now, the Sacred Realm?"

Tara nodded. "Please."

Impaz seemed to look at the group, examining them. Suddenly, an all too familiar raven glided in through the window and landed on the table. She fluttered about, in a panic, squawking loudly. Sora grumbled something, wrapping his hands around Hannah's midsection and glaring at her. She calmed down slightly, but bit his hand and glided away to an open space as Sora clutched his hand. Hannah's form shifted as she took on her human form.

"Lady Impaz." Hannah bowed respectfully, before turning to Sora. "The Eldin Province is slowly being covered in Twilight."

"What?!" Link's heart skipped a beat.

"Death has captured the Goddess Din. Farore has already come to seek the help of the Hero of Darkness, and Nayru has talked to the Princesses in Hyrule."

"This is getting out of hand." Sora bit his lip. "Heartless, Death taking over the Spirit World, dead people awakening…"

"It needs to stop." Hannah paused. "Your heart?"

Sora's hand trailed over the chest. Weak pangs of pain had been pulsing from his heart, but he had been ignoring it.

"I see. Well, then, next time I see you will probably be in the Twilight Realm." Hannah took a step back. "Take care… father." With that, she turned into a raven and flew out the window.

Sora stood there, stunned for a moment. So Hannah was his. She had mentioned, at one point, that she had been adopted, so he wondered what had, or rather, would, happen, to both him and her.

"Time is a cruel thing." Impaz muttered. "Those who travel it are considered blessed by the others."

"But to them, it's a curse." Tara hummed. "I know of a couple heroes who have known that. The last one was the one of the Kokiri. Hylian by birth, Kokiri by home." Tara bit her lip.

"Now, we keep getting off track." Sora interrupted. "Twilight Realm."

"Go to the location of the Sages. There is more than one way in hidden there."

The group all bowed politely, muttering 'thank you's before leaving.

"The location of the Sages…" Link muttered.

"The coliseum." Tara shrugged.

"Oh _great. _I hope you like flying."

Tara seemed to freeze on the spot. "Oh shit. I'll just stay here. With the grass… and the water… and the grass." Link raised an eyebrow at her. "I am deathly afraid of heights and falling. Getting shot into the desert via canon… not exactly my idea of a good idea," she shuddered at the thought. Link rolled his eyes. "How about, you guys go, and I'll wait here."

"You know more about Hyrule than the lot of us put together." Roxas commented. "We can't afford to leave you behind."

"Well… you guys go… and open a portal for me." Tara nodded. "Much better than flying." Sora sighed.

"Just come on."

They headed towards the lake, but had to make camp in the middle of the field when night began to set it and it became near impossible to see. They didn't have any tents with them (Link muttered several times about how idiotic they had been), but Tara had some matches, which she used to light a fire.

"Why did you guys come to Hyrule, anyway?" Link asked.

"We were told by a friend of ours that there was some unfinished business to attend to." Sora shrugged. "I get the feeling she knew what would happen to us once we arrived."

Link looked up at the sky. "People like that are annoying, but helpful."

Something moved nearby, and everyone got to their feet. Two human-like figures stumbled through the shadows. Sora took a couple steps forward.

"They might not be friendly!" Link snapped at him, but Sora ignored him, squinting at the darkness as he slowly continued forwards.

"Kairi? Namine?"

The two figures stopped. Tara and Roxas looked at each other in shock. How the hell could Sora figure that out?

"Sora?" There was a pause. "Sora!" One of the figures darted forward and threw her arms around his neck. Kairi buried her face against his shoulder. Namine stepped into the firelight a moment later.

Both the girls had dirt smeared all over their skin, clothes and all through their hair. They had various injuries – from bruises to scratches, even a gash across Namine's face. Kairi had one on her arm.

"What're you two doing here?" Roxas questioned.

"The Organization… Heartless… the islands…" Kairi stuttered.

"Calm down, Kairi, what about the Organization?"

"They attacked the islands… There were a couple helping us try and hold them off, as well as evacuating the townspeople… I can't remember all their names, but Axel was there… a guy with pink hair… a girl with antenna-like hair… that was it, I think."

"Axel, Marluxia and Larxene; the overground crew of Castle Oblivion." Roxas remarked. Namine nodded.

"Is everyone okay?" Sora asked.

"I don't know… when Axel said that there was no way they could win everyone just ran to a portal and got out of there. I don't know who got out and who didn't…" Kairi stopped for a moment, choking back a sob. "Sora… the islands are gone… they destroyed them…"

"Oh gods…" Tara muttered. Sora was frozen in place, unable to choose between anger or sadness. In the end, he opted for sadness and buried his face against Kairi's shoulder.

"This cannot be happening."


	4. To the Twilight Realm

**Warned**

"_Riku." _

Riku picked up his radio off the end table, beside the bed he was sitting on. "Roxas." He answered it, wondering why Roxas was radioing him, especially since it was in the middle of the night in Hyrule.

"_Sora was going to contact you, but I don't think he's up for it… Riku, the Organization's back. They destroyed the islands." _

"What about Kairi?!" Riku asked, his heart beating a few hundred miles an hour.

"_She's fine, her and Namine both are here with us." _Roxas answered. _"Some of the Organization is on our side. Axel, Marluxia and Larxene all tried to save the island." _

Riku calmed down a bit. "Are you guys still on your way here?"

"_Yeah. We'll be there soon, Riku." _

"I'll see you then."

* * *

Roxas put the radio away, and glanced over at Sora and Kairi. Sora had fallen asleep, and Kairi was lying beside him, watching his face to make sure he was going to sleep okay. He hadn't really slept _well_ for a couple years. Tara had fallen asleep shortly after Sora and Kairi showed up. Link was tending to Namine's wounds, pouring some red liquid on them, and using a cloth to prevent it from escaping. He had offered to help Kairi, but she turned him down to stay by Sora.

Roxas walked over to where Tara was sleeping, and grabbed her backpack and began going through it until he found the three thin, almost picnic-like blankets she had packed, rolled up at the bottom of the back. He pulled one out and covered the sleeping brunette. He grabbed another and, tucking it under his arm, walked over to Sora and Kairi.

"How're you feeling?" He asked the Princess of Heart.

"Shocked." She answered quietly. "I didn't think that the islands would be destroyed again…" Roxas gave her an apologetic smile, placing his hand gently on her shoulder. He unrolled the blanket and used it to cover her and Sora.

"Get some rest. We're on our way to join Riku in the Twilight Realm."

Kairi looked up at him. "Riku's here?"

"Yeah, he's waiting for us. Now, get some sleep." Roxas told her, standing and walking away.

"You want the last blanket?" He asked Link, who shook his head.

"No, I'll be fine." He answered. Roxas nodded.

It wasn't much later that Link finished treating Namine's wounds. The Memory Witch thanked him, then walked over to Roxas, who was lying down, staring at the stars. She sat down beside him, gently placing a hand on his forehead.

"How're you feeling?"

"Angry, sad and simply stressed out." Roxas answered.

"You can feel Sora and Riku's emotions."

"And someone else's."

"Really?"

Roxas sat up. "Every day. Every day since I was 'born', there has always been someone else's emotions hidden deep inside of my heart. It's especially strong right now. There's… never ending anger. No amount of happiness, sadness, fear or otherwise can stop it…" He looked at Namine. "You know why that is, don't you?"

"It's better if you figure it out on your own." Namine answered. Roxas nodded. If Namine was saying that, then it was probably true. He lay back down. Namine got up, but returned a few moments later, curled up beside him and pulled the last blanket over the two of them. Roxas looked down at her, surprised, but didn't object to the extra warmth.

* * *

Sora shifted slightly, and slowly opened his eyes. He noticed the blanket and the girl curled up against him, fast asleep. He moved his hand to brush the hair from her face gently. She stirred slightly and opened her eyes.

"Morning." Sora smiled at her, sitting up and allowing the blanket to fall.

"Morning." Kairi yawned.

"Good morning, you two."

They both glanced up at the pointed-eared hero.

"Hey, Link." Sora nodded.

"Hello." Kairi smiled, now sitting up.

"How're your injuries?" Link asked her.

"They'll heal."

"Show me your arm." Link crouched down in front of her and extended a hand. She placed her forearm in his hand. With his other hand, Link gently pressed the skin surrounding the wound, resulting in a hiss from the burgundy haired teen, and his hand being yanked back by a spiky haired brunette.

"You know that's going to get infected, right?" Link questioned. Sora nodded, and then muttered a Cura spell. Kairi's wounds healed over until the largest of them were half-healed. Link blinked, and then shook his head, getting up.

Sora and Link woke the other three in their group, and they scattered the remains of their fire before packing up the blankets and everything else.

"Hey, is this one of yours?"

Everyone looked up at the teasing voice that was all too familiar to everyone… except Link.

"Axel!" Roxas exclaimed. The red head smirked at his old friend.

"Yo, Roxas!" He would've given a mock salute, had he not been carrying an unconscious girl with dirty-blond hair, who was covered in dirt, bruises, scratches, the lot.

"That's Sarah…" Tara commented.

"Larx grabbed her and got out just before the island vanished." Axel explained. "Lexaeus knocked her out." He added, motioning to Sarah. Roxas flinched in memory, earning a laugh from the red head.

"Don't ask Lexaeus stupid questions." Roxas muttered.

"That's right, you nearly got knocked out by him that one time…"

"Don't remind me… not to mention he turned around and made me fight Heartless right away afterwards… while he stood off to the side and watched."

Axel laughed, shaking his head.

"What about Sam, and my dad?"

"As far as I know they got out." Axel answered. "Not much else I can tell you."

Sora nodded. "Oh, Axel?"

"What's up?"

"Thanks."

"Don't mention it, Spike."

"Spike?" Sora crossed his arms.

"Guys, the sun is moving and we are not!" Link snapped. "We're a good half day from Lake Hylia, and once we get to the desert there's another good hour or two until the Coliseum."

"If you can handle a bit of Darkness we can cut the trip to the desert down to about… five seconds?"

Link crossed his arms, giving Axel that dull expression that seemed to read 'honestly, did you just say that?'

"I take that as a 'go for it'." The Flurry of Dancing Flames chuckled, and a portal opened behind him. "Hey, could someone else take Sleeping Beauty here? My arms are getting tired after lugging her all the way here and trying to find what goddamn world you lot were in."

"I'll take her, I guess." Sora shrugged, and found himself carrying the girl. She was awfully light for how high her daily sugar intake was. Axel stretched his sore arms, before darting through the portal. Roxas was close behind. Sora followed him, then Kairi, Namine, Tara and finally Link, who wasn't sure what to think of the portal. Sure, he had used the Twili's portals, but this wasn't one of them.

* * *

As soon as she stepped into the hot desert, Tara sulked. "I hate the heat." She muttered. Sora rolled his eyes.

"I'm wearing black."

"I'm wearing…" Tara looked down at her clothing – a pair of blue jeans and a grey t-shirt that read 'I'm probably not listening to you'. "Grey and blue…" Sora rolled his eyes. Tara glanced around. "I know this place… it's from Ocarina of Time… sure it's in ruins now but…" They were in a small desert village, that was, needless to say, abandoned and falling apart. She darted up the hill, and the others followed her.

Tara looked around. What seemed to have, once upon a time, been wooden archery targets were lying, broken in the sand. Tara glanced around, then turned and darted back down, running through the run down town.

"Where are we, exactly?" Link questioned, watching Tara climb up onto a still-intact building.

"The Gerudo Village." She answered. "Home of the Spirit Sage, and Ganondorf's hometown. Probably why it's in ruins, because the Hylians, and Sages, feared another Ganondorf would be born here." She commented, jumping down off the building. "Hylian, Kokiri, Goron, Zora, Sheikha and Gerudo… those six races made up the Six Sages…" She wandered down the path to a collapsing gate. "I don't know how we could get to the Temple from here… I mean, there's a desert between us and it… and, if I remember correctly, only the Poe could show the way…" She frowned.

"What's she on about?" Axel asked Roxas, who shrugged.

"I don't know and she lives with us."

"I'm not going to bother trying to decode it, then."

"The translator's unconscious, too…"

Axel laughed.

"I got it! It's a bit of a long shot, but…" Tara put her bag down on the ground and began looking through it until she found what she was looking for – her ocarina. She shoved it into Namine's hands, and looked the Memory Witch in the eyes. After a moment, Namine nodded.

"I hope you're coordinated." Tara muttered. Namine hesitantly raised the instrument to her lips and, using Tara's memories as a guide, she began to play a song the girl knew as the Requiem of Spirit. After that, if the song did what it was supposed to, Namine would be warped outside the temple they were trying to get to.

When the song finished, an orange colored sparkle of light swept by and circled Namine. She vanished and the light flew off towards the desert.

"And now we wait." Tara said, the look on her face showing that she was shocked that it actually worked. She zipped her bag up and slung it onto her shoulders.

A couple moments later a portal opened. Tara was the first to dart through it, wanting her Ocarina back. Roxas, Sora, Axel and Link followed.

* * *

They stepped out of the portal in front of a stand that seemed to have been made to hold a very large, round piece of metal or glass or something. There was a block behind it as well. Tara looked around.

"That worked better than I thought it would." She commented as Namine gave her the Ocarina back. Tara put it away.

"See? There's no way in." Link commented with a sigh.

"We'll find one." Kairi commented, having had everything explained to her back in the ruined Gerudo Village.

They weren't exactly sure how long they searched for, but, between the time they spent packing up, wandering around the Gerudo Village, and searching for the entrance to the Twilight Realm, it was starting to darken.

"Roxas?" Sora, who had sat Sarah down on the stairs leading up to the stand, waved a hand in front of his Nobody's face. Roxas was just staring at the block behind the round stand. Suddenly, he flicked his hand up and a portal formed against the block. Tara jumped through the portal head-first, and returned a moment later.

"It's the Twilight Palace on the other side!" She looked at Roxas. "How the hell did you do that?"

"I… don't know…"

Tara looked up. "Anyone else feel that?" There was a heavy feeling of sorrow in the air. "Dusk. It must've affected Roxas."

"The only time our world connects with the Twilight Realm." Link commented. "Let's go." He said, stepping through the portal Roxas had opened. Tara followed, then Namine and Kairi, and then Roxas and Axel. Sora grabbed Sarah and darted in behind them.

* * *

It took Sora's eyes a moment to adjust to the lack of light in the area, but he soon was able to see perfectly. They seemed to be in front of the doors to a large, black palace. Roxas had a hold of Tara's arm, the girl trying to pull away to run around and look at different things. Link rolled his eyes.

"Come on, let's go find Midna." He sighed. "She'd know where your brother is." _If he's still human. _Sora nodded, and began to follow Link, but suddenly, a sharp pain shot through his heart and he clutched his chest. Link looked back at him, just in time to see the Keyblade Master collapse to his hands and knees. Tara caught Sarah and pulled her out of the way.

"Sora, are you okay?" Roxas asked, kneeling in front of Sora. Sora's eyes clenched shut and he screamed, his heart feeling like it was being stabbed over and over again.

* * *

Riku opened an eye, hearing the screams below. He was lying on the bed in the room he had been allowed, the window looking out towards the courtyard. He peered out the window, and his eyes widened.

"Sora!" He shot out of the bed and out the window, landing easily on the ground. He darted towards Sora and dropped, sliding the last five yards on his knees. He scooped Sora up in his arms, and the Keyblade Master clung onto his brother's vest.

"Ri…ku." He barely managed to get out, trying to keep himself from screaming.

"I'm sorry, Sora. I'm here." Riku apologized. Sora shook his head.

"Don't… be sorry." Sora closed his eyes, biting down harshly on his bottom lip. Suddenly, he jerked. Riku, Roxas and Kairi all flinched as they felt a connection in their heart being severed. Sora's breath hitched. When he recovered, Riku's hand shot to the side of Sora's neck to check for a pulse. Nothing.

"Sora!" He shook the Keyblade Master. "Sora!" A bit harder. Kairi had to look away. Riku clutched his brother's lifeless body, glaring at the ground. Suddenly, he dropped Sora and ran off. "I HATE YOU DEATH!"

"Do you, now, Riku?"

Riku spun around, and called Soul Eater to his hand.

Death only appeared to be about twelve years old, with messy, blood red hair, the ends reaching the base of his skull. His eyes were a deep scarlet color. His clothing consisted of black leather pants, mud-caked army boots and a zip shirt which seemed to have had the bottom diagonally torn off – stopping at his waist on the right, his hip on the left – with frayed ends. He was also wearing a leather jacket, as well as a spiked dog collar as a choker and matching spiked wristbands on either wrist.

"Now, now, that's just not right. After all, I haven't made your mark spread at all since I created it."

"Give me back my brother!" Riku growled.

"I'm afraid I can't do that. You see, my sister Fate was getting annoying with her control, so this will throw a wrench in her system. Hannah will die, Leera and Leran won't be bastards and no one will go back in time, thus changing _everything._" Death commented in a smug tone. This only caused Riku to become even more pissed off. He lunged at Death, but the deity vanished, and Riku tripped. He didn't bother getting up right away.

"Damn it…" he muttered, resisting the urge to cry. "Damn it."


	5. A Frozen Friend

_Author's notes: **IF YOU HATE SPOILERS, STOP RIGHT THERE, WAIT UNTIL 358/2 DAYS AND BIRTH BY SLEEP COME OUT IN ENGLISH, AND RETURN AFTER YOU BEAT THE GAME, BECAUSE TERRA, AQUA, VEN AND XION ARE ALL GOING TO BE IN THIS FIC AT SOME POINT OR ANOTHER.**_

**Warned**

"Riku…"

Riku looked over his shoulder at his burgundy haired friend, standing in the door way. He was sitting on his bed again, staring out the window.

"Hey, Kai."

Kairi sat down beside him on the bed. "Is there any way into the spirit world to save Sora?"

"I tried. There is none." Riku answered. Kairi sighed. "I'm sorry, Kairi." He apologized. "If I hadn't left the islands-"

"Don't apologize." Kairi shook her head. "If this is anyone's fault, it's Death's." Riku nodded. "Hey, where's Roxas going?" He asked, looking out the window. Kairi peered out. Roxas was walking towards the gates to leave the palace… Where _was_ he going?

* * *

Roxas left the palace through the gates. There was something weird nearby… something familiar to him… but he couldn't put a finger on it…

The path outside the palace was badly run down, and it seemed like it hadn't been used in ages. Patches of black fog were scattered around, and Roxas, smartly, avoided them.

He walked for who knows how long, following his instinct, not his logic. As Sora would say, he was following his heart. He did have part of one…

After awhile, Roxas found himself walking with his eyes closed, relying on only his instinct to tell him where to go. Until he ran into something hard and cold, that is. He opened his eyes and looked at the block of ice in front of him. He was in a cavern of some sort, he noticed. The block of ice was frozen to both the ceiling and floor in the center of the cavern, the icy tendrils snaking along the stone like tree roots. Roxas could make out a human figure in the ice, suspended half way between the floor and the ceiling. There was something familiar about the figure…

Raven hair, black cloak, about his age…

He clutched his head as a memory played in his mind…

…_He and Axel on the Station Tower. There was the faint outline of someone slowly fading into existence. He was talking to her, and Axel leaned over to state his two cents. Roxas turned to talk to Axel, and the new third person leaned over to listen and comment. She was now completely solid, no longer fading in or out, and then her name…_

"Xion." Roxas gasped, looking up at the peaceful expression on the frozen girl's face. He placed his hand on the ice. "I'll wake you, promise." He noticed that something was etching into the ice beneath his hand, so he moved it to see.

_I know you will. _

"Wait for me."

_I will. _

Roxas nodded, and then vanished into a portal.

* * *

"Riku!"

"What's up?" Riku asked, looking over at Namine. He was wandering about the court yard, and the Memory Witch had just run up to him.

"Have you seen Roxas?"

"Not since yesterday when he left the palace." Riku answered.

"The only thing on the other side is chaos, corrupted Twilight and other things that Ganon and Zant used to attack Hyrule." Link commented, walking towards them, with Midna trailing behind him. "Your friend's as good as gone." His expression softened slightly as he looked down. "You're Sora's brother, aren't you?" Riku nodded. "I'm sorry." Riku looked down at the ground.

"Nothing could be done." He shook his head.

"Something has to be done!"

Everyone looked at the raven haired part-bird part-teenage girl, struggling to get out of Leera and Leran's grips. She was crying.

"If not… I'll die! I'll cease to exist!"

"Hannah! Stop it!" Leran yanked her arm harshly, earning a pained hawk-like call from the girl.

"Leran!" Riku snapped. Leran stared at him for a moment, shocked. He loosened his grip slightly.

"If your Sora's daughter," Kairi began, "why do you have wings?"

"You'll find out after you meet me, Princess." Hannah answered, looking at Kairi. Her legs gave out, and she collapsed, trembling.

"If she vanishes than the balance will be ruined!" A fourth member of the group, a teenage boy, around fifteen, the same age as Hannah, exclaimed, darting towards them. He had cat-like ears, and a tail, which matched his brunette hair. "There is a reason there are three Keybladers of the Twilight. We were needed to balance things out. If one of us, let alone the _Keyblade Master_ specifically, goes, everything falls into chaos!"

"And you would know, Kazuya?" Leran snapped. "Why don't you figure out a way to bring Hannah's father back if you're so smart, you lousy Betwicat." Kazuya snarled.

"What did you just call me?"

"Well I'm sorry, all mighty Heir of the Betwixts." Leran rolled his eyes.

"This is getting nowhere! Shut the hell up, _now_, or I will personally skewer you both!" Leera threatened.

"Oh shut your mouth, Leera!"

Leera glared at Leran. "Is that a challenge?"

"Maybe!"

Riku darted between the two before they went any further with their threats.

"If you guys want to save Hannah, you're going to need a way to revive Sora, so I suggest shutting the hell up, putting your heads together and finding out how to give the Spirit World back to Fate!" He snapped.

"I don't know who Leera's more like," Namine commented to Kairi, "you or Riku." Her Somebody smacked her over the back of the head.

"Get Hannah inside and come back out here, Din needs our help. After we save her the Hylian Goddesses agreed to help us save Fate." Riku told Leera and Leran. They nodded. Leran picked up his winged cousin and the twins darted inside. "How the hell am I going to cope with those two?" He muttered.

"Well, you kind of leave their lives when they're only five." Kazuya commented. Riku didn't answer. He looked over at Axel, who had been leaning against the wall.

"You willing to give us a hand?"

"Until Roxas gets back? Sure, why not?" Axel answered with a shrug.

"Link," Riku looked at the Hylian Hero, "one of your Goddesses has been captured by Death. Are you up for helping us?" Link nodded.

"Of course. If I don't, Hyrule will fall into chaos."

"Wisely said, Link."

Link looked over his shoulder in shock. The intricately dressed Hylian Princess, Zelda, stood there, her hands clasped together in front of her.

"Princess!" He exclaimed. Zelda nodded. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm not sure myself, but I'm sure there's a reason." She answered. "Come inside, Farore and Nayru are waiting for us."

* * *

Introductions were short and sweet. The group met in a soundproof lounge room. Farore watched Riku, almost worriedly, through most of the conversation. The Hylian Goddesses had also promised to wake Sarah up later.

"Hero of Darkness, you have not said a word since you entered." Farore commented. Riku, who was leaning against the wall, continued to stare at his feet. Farore frowned. "Riku, your brother can be saved. Don't lose hope. You know how the puzzle fits; you just need to put it together again." At this, Riku looked up. The puzzle? What puzzle? It was a riddle, he knew, but what did she mean? He looked back at his feet.

The conversation resumed its original course.

"So," Link spoke up, "in addition to the three Goddesses of Hyrule, there are other deities, including Life, Death and Fate, and Death has gotten jealous of Fate and took over the Afterlife, and captured Din." He summarized.

"Yes." Nayru, a young woman about Farore's age with wavy, flowing blue hair, wearing a blue dress and sandals, spoke up. "And if Din isn't saved, Hyrule will be lost forever."

"We'll save her." Tara declared. "We have to."

* * *

"Are we ready?" Kazuya questioned. Riku shrugged, and then looked at the two Hylian Goddesses. They were back in the soundproof room.

"What about Roxas?" Axel questioned.

"Dead, probably." Link commented.

"He's not. I'm not in the same state as Hannah." Kazuya retorted.

"Kazuya's got a point there. If Roxas was dead Kazuya wouldn't exist." Riku commented. "Besides," he reached into his pocket. He pulled out Sora's crown pendant. The white crystal was no longer glowing, but the purple amethyst and the blue sapphire both glowed brightly. "The gems stop glowing when that Keyblader dies. The white crystal represents Sora, the purple amethyst me, and the blue sapphire is Roxas." He put the pendant back into his pocket.

"Let's go, before it's too late." Farore commented. The others nodded.

* * *

_**You're not sleeping. **_

"_No."_

_**You need to get some rest. **_

"_I won't rest until I've freed you." _

_**What if it's the death of you? **_

"_I won't let it get that far." _

_**I hope not. **_

* * *

"Where are we?" Axel asked the two Hylian Deities.

"The Master Sword's chamber." Link answered instead.

The chamber had mosses, ivy and what not growing all over the floors and walls, splotching patches of green against the fading yellows and browns of the walls. The ceiling was none existent, and had been for some time. Whatever pattern was on the floor was unrecognizable. In the center of the room was a platform, and on the platform was a rectangular stone pedestal with a symbol formed of three triangles stacked to form a larger triangle was printed on the pedestal. Stuck into the stone, was a sword. The blade seemed to be glowing, and the blue hilt was shaped like hieroglyphic wings. Link stepped forwards, but then looked back at Farore.

"Take your sword, Hero of Time. Take the Blade of Evil's Bane from its pedestal."

Link turned back to the sword and walked towards it. He wrapped both hands around the hilt and pulled on it. It slipped from the stone easily for him.

"If anyone but him tried to remove the Master Sword, it would be impossible." Tara commented. Sarah, who was awake and had accompanied them, looked over.

"How?"

"It's simple. The Master Sword is a blade that can only be wielded by the Hero of Time." Tara answered. "Every time evil appears, one of the swords is call upon to vanquish it, whether it's the Master Sword or the Four Sword. Then there's peace, then evil returns later, then there's peace and so on and so forth. The swords cut through Darkness, as well, such as Zant's magic, or Gufuu, or Vaati, or even Ganondorf. And it also works as a baseball bat."

Nayru, Farore, Sarah and Riku all smacked their faces.

"What?" Tara exclaimed, looking around at the group. "It does! Extreme Baseball, Legend of Zelda style. Ganondorf's the pitcher."

"Yo, you know what? I'm not going to ask." Axel shook his head.

* * *

"Guys, Roxas's back!"

"What?" Everyone looked up as Tara darted into the dining room.

"Roxas's back!" She repeated. Riku, Axel, Namine and Kairi all got up from their seats and followed her out of the palace.

When they came out into the courtyard area, they spotted the blond. What Riku noticed first was that he was wearing a black cloak. An Organization XIII cloak. He hesitated, but when Roxas collapsed, followed the group to Roxas's side to check on him.

"Are you okay?" Axel questioned, rolling Roxas onto his back. Roxas smiled. There were dark circles under his eyes, showing that he had little to no sleep in the last week.

"I'm fine."

"Where've you been?" The red-head demanded, Roxas didn't answer. His eyes shut as he fainted from exhaustion.


	6. Angel who Strayed too Far from Light

**Warned**

"Roxas must've left last night," Axel commented, "while we were all asleep." Namine nodded. Her, Axel, Riku and Kairi were all walking down the hallway. Roxas was nowhere to be found, and Tara didn't have anything beyond the palace mapped out on her computer, nor did any of the Twili, the race of people in the Twilight Realm. All they knew was that he was off in the chaos past the palace.

"If he gets killed, we're doomed." Riku commented. "We're losing Hannah, slowly, and loosing Kazuya as well would be the end of everything as we know it." The others nodded in agreement. He glanced behind him, upon hearing a noise.

All that he saw was a flash of silver and red. Then nothing.

* * *

_**You need to sleep. **_

"_I did." _

_**A few hours aren't enough. You're going to kill yourself. **_

"_Never." _

_**Please, just rest for a little while. **_

"_I'll rest when you're free." _

* * *

"Roxas has left Hyrule." Tara looked over her shoulder at Riku, who walked over and looked at the laptop screen. Sarah peered over as well.

"Where is he?"

"The World that Never Was," Tara answered. She opened the map of the world, and then began searching through the castle. She zoomed out. "Axel, come look at this." The red-head looked over. "What's that?"

"Roxas's room," Axel told her. Tara muttered a 'huh'.

"So he's looking for something… something from when he was still in the Organization." Riku muttered. "What could he be searching for?"

Tara bit her lip. "Axel, from Roxas's 27th to 50th days… who was there to check up on him when he was in that coma?"

"Me. That was it…"

"No, it's not…" Tara frowned. "There's something missing from your memories… someone. _Xion._" She started going through files on the laptop, until she found the pictures she was looking for, pictures of the raven-haired fourteenth member of Organization XIII.

"Xion's a mary-sue." Sarah rolled her eyes.

"Xion's awesome. She's creepy, has memory problems and a black cloak!"

"You just like that Roxine isn't the cannon pairing anymore."

"Hell yeah."

"Can we get back on task, here?" Riku interrupted.

"Right, anyway," Tara, realizing that the pictures weren't helping the group remember, closed them and returned to the map. "Y'know, when 358/2 Days came out, I spent so much time watching the Japanese cutscenes that I forgot what Axel and Roxas sounded like in English, then when I watched the English trailer that came out I nearly fell out of my chair going 'HOLY SHIT.'… and I discovered that I pronounced 'Xion' wrong."

"ON TASK." Riku smacked Tara over the back of the head. She quickly got back to what she was doing.

"Roxas's leaving…" she muttered, and started flicking through the maps. "He's in Twilight Town… now he's in Traverse Town? What would he find there? Huh…" Tara frowned. Everyone looked up as there was a loud crash. Tara closed her laptop, pulled Riku's radio from the cord and passed it to him.

They darted down into the courtyard.

"Saix!" Axel growled. The Luna Diviner glanced over.

"Hello again, Axel." He turned to completely face the group. "Are you still hanging onto your false friendship, Lea?" Axel hesitated slightly. "You choose a fake friendship over the real one you had."

"Shut up! My friendship died with my friend's heart! Just because you know who I was does not make you him, Saix. I thought I made that clear." Axel growled, as his chakrams appeared in his hands.

"Foolish, hanging onto that which you cannot truly hold onto. If I remember correctly, you didn't hesitate to capture Xion when you were ordered."

"Who the hell is Xion?"

"Still don't remember. Tsk, tsk, I'd expect better of Reno's brother."

"That's enough!" Axel charged forwards, throwing his chakrams at the blunette. A claymore appeared between them and Saix. Riku went to dart forwards to help Axel, but found him and his friends surrounded by Berserker Nobodies. Tara and Sarah went pale; the two of them looked like ghosts.

Axel called his chakrams back to his hands as he continued to charge, and used his weapons to slice at Organization XIII's number VII. Every attack was either dodged or blocked. Saix pulled a swipe at Axel's feet, while ducking under a chakram, sending the fire element crashing to the ground. The Luna Diviner stood over him. Axel simply stared at him, waiting.

"Axel, move it!"

Saix found himself stumbling to the side, the Oblivion Keyblade having struck his side. He looked at the blond standing in front of Axel. The kid looked exhausted – black circles under his eyes, eye lids drooping – but the strike had stung none the less.

"Only one?" Saix questioned, noticing the lack of Oathkeeper.

"The other one's here!"

He spun around, just in time to receive a firm smack from Oathkeeper that send him flying backwards and skidding across the black stone. The raven-haired girl that had attacked him straightened up and brushed her raven hair from her sapphire eyes. She gave Roxas a thumbs up and a smile, both which he returned, although sleepily.

"You two help the others," Axel, who had now stood up, spoke, "I'll worry about Saix." The two teenagers nodded.

Riku and the others weren't fairing too well. For starters, Riku was the only fighter in the group, Link being unable to reach them, and the pellets Tara had fired only succeeded in annoying the large Nobodies, so she had quickly stopped.

Suddenly, a group of the Berserkers were struck down by two different Keyblades. As the Nobodies faded, Roxas and Xion both moved on to attack more of the Nobodies. Riku nodded in thanks, taking down a couple more.

Soon, the three had destroyed all the Berserkers. Roxas collapsed immediately after, only to be caught by his raven-haired accomplice.

Axel managed to land a hit, lodging his chakram in Saix's stomach. The Luna Diviner grunted, yanking the weapon out, before vanishing into a portal. Axel turned to look over at the rest of the group.

"Roxas!" He exclaimed, dropping his second chakram and darting over. The raven haired girl looked up, having laid her blond-haired friend on the ground. Axel crouched down beside Roxas, placing a hand on the teenager's forehead.

"He's fine." Xion shook her head. "He's just exhausted." Axel looked over at her. It took a moment, but, slowly, he remembered who she was. He nodded, and picked Roxas up.

"I'll take him inside." Axel said as he stood, and then walked inside. Xion watched them leave.

"Hello, Xion."

She looked over her shoulder, hearing the familiar, soft voice of Namine.

"Namine." She nodded. Xion then looked over at Riku, who was looking back at her. "Do you remember?" He nodded.

"It's been awhile, hasn't it?" He commented. Xion only hummed.

"You seem sad…"

"Sora's dead."

"No." Xion shook her head. "Not dead. Shattered, maybe…"

"What do you mean?"

Xion only smiled and walked into the palace.

"…What's that supposed to mean?"

"Figure it out for yourself you lazy bastard?" Tara suggested with a shrug. Riku looked over at her and raised an eyebrow.

"Are you inferring something?"

"What? Me? Never." Tara shook her head, but then promptly ran inside. Sarah followed close behind. Riku sighed and shook his head.

* * *

"Any clue on the Organization's whereabouts?"

"Earth." Axel answered Riku. "They know that you can't go there without risking getting in trouble with the law again, so they're hiding out there."

"As long as they don't destroy it." Tara commented. "I get my internet access from there." Riku rolled his eyes.

"Roxas still isn't awake." Axel commented. Everyone went quiet for a moment. It'd been a week since Saix had attacked them. Roxas had simply exhausted himself, trying to awaken Xion, and had fallen into a self-induced coma.

"As long as he's not out for 23 days," Tara shrugged. Axel nodded. She had a point, he figured. "Xion's with him right now, right? She'll let us know when he wakes up." She cringed slightly, remembering something.

"What's your problem?" Riku asked her.

"Long story that is better left untold." Tara answered. "Basically a role play with Sarah in which the content would made you think I was insane."

"Aren't you?"

"Good point. HIGH FIVES FOR INSANITY!"

Riku and Axel looked at each other and shook their heads.

* * *

Riku opened his eyes. Shouting? What was going on at… he checked his watch, two in the morning? He sat up and looked out the window. Leera was going off at someone with long, silver hair, and a wing… It wasn't Sephiroth, because his wing was feathered, this one was bat-like with the coloration of Soul Eater. He left the room and quickly darted down through the hallway.

He paused as he finally exited the castle, entering the court yard. Both Leera and the oddly familiar man standing there stopped to look at him.

The man's eyes matched both Riku and Leera's – a sky blue color. Soul Eater resided in the man's right hand, and his long, silver hair reached his knees. Riku was lost for words, and he felt his knees buckle before he collapsed. This man… this one-winged angel… was _him._ Him twenty years older.

_Is that my fate? To become a fallen angel? _

Hardly seemed a high enough price to pay for killing Kairi.

Riku looked up, someone having pulled on his hair to make him look at them. He looked into the eyes of his future self.

"Don't cry." Was all the man said, before releasing Riku's hair and turning away. He took a few steps, before stopping and turning to Leera. "If you want to save _him _then calm your anger. Otherwise you may scare your boyfriend away."

"HE'S NOT MY BOYFRIEND!" Leera hissed like some teenage girl, annoyed with her parents for teasing her about the boys she hung out with. Riku's future self only chuckled, before looking back at Riku as he fainted.

* * *

"Good morning."

"Fuck off."

The fallen angel chuckled, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed. Riku forced himself to sit up, and glanced around the guest room.

"I'd thank you for stopping Leera for killing me, but it'd be a bit weird thanking myself."

"You remember every word you're saying, don't you?" Riku questioned. The fallen angel nodded. "Is there anything I can-"

"Leera calls me Xehanort, but I don't think you'd like to call me that."

Riku hesitated. This guy knew every word he was going to say before he said it.

"Creepy, isn't it?" His future self chuckled. Riku nodded slowly. "Some things we never forget, Riku. Don't forget this. I know you won't, though, because I haven't."

Riku was still at a loss for words. Finally he looked down. "Is it possible to save Sora?"

"Yes."

Riku exhaled. "Will I succeed?"

"I'll let you find out for yourself."

"TELL ME GODDANM IT!" Riku would've thrown something, if there was something other than the pillow to throw.

"No. Your fate is not something you need read out for you. It's something you need to live out on your own."

Riku slumped down into the lying position, sighing.

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be. If I knew my fate, what would surprise me? It wouldn't be fair."

"I will tell you this, though. Sora's death is caused by Death's Mark. Whether that means now, or later, you'll have to find out."

Riku nodded slowly.

"Roxas's death is suicide – death by fire."

"A connection to Axel."

"Aye."

"So they die before us?"

"Sort of…"

"Great."

"Sarcasm."

Riku didn't answer, simply stared at the ceiling. He only glanced up as there was a knock on the door. The fallen angel froze in horror, before he darted forwards, grabbed Riku's shoulder and easily pushed him to the floor before jumping out the window.

A flash of red and silver and he was gone.

Riku sat there in shock for a moment, before another knock rang out. He got up and opened the door.

"Xion, what's wrong?"

"Roxas is still unconscious… I'm worried about him…" The girl answered. "Asides from breathing, he has no signs of being alive at all… he doesn't move at all…" Riku stepped aside to let the girl enter the room. He left the door open and sat beside the girl on the bed.

"I'm sure he'll be fine." He assured the clone.

"I can see the pain in your eyes… it hurts you to look at me… knowing who I am."

_Random change of subject. _Riku thought. He didn't answer Xion, however, simply stared at the floor.

"I'm sorry about Sora, Riku."

"So am I… but, there may be hope, so let's not give up."

"He's worn off on you." Xion commented with a bit of a smile. "You're being optimistic."

"For a change."

She nodded. "Did I take Sora away? It seems odd that I appeared when he died."

"No. Death took him away."

"Are you sad?"

"And angry."

"I'm sorry."

"Where are we, Destiny Isles?" Riku laughed dryly, before remembering that the Islands were gone. Xion stood, knowing it best to leave him alone now, and left the room.

* * *

"Leera?"

"Riku." The silver-red haired woman answered, gripping onto Riku's upper arm. "I need your help to awaken some friends of mine."

"Why don't you ask the fallen angel?"

"Because he killed mother."

Riku let out an 'hmp'. "What do you need me for?"

"In Radiant Garden, there's Ansem the Wise's computer. If a certain set of passwords is entered into that computer, the underground laboratory is opened up. Two of my friends are unconscious there." Leera answered. "I need you to open up the laboratory."

"Why me?"

"Because you're the only one who knows how."

Riku raised an eyebrow at her. "I'll come, but no guarantees that I'll know any of this stuff."

"I'd hug you if I didn't hate you."


	7. Connected Hearts

Author's notes: Leaving Hyrule for a bit in the beginning…

**Warned**

Riku glanced over at Axel. The red head wanted to come with them to Radiant Garden, for 'personal reasons'.

"I don't see why he can't come with us." Kazuya commented, crossing his arms. Leera and Leran nodded.

"Let him come. As long as Tara stays behind," Leera spoke. Riku nodded, then flicked his wrist and opened a portal. The group headed through it quickly.

* * *

"Where are we heading?"

"Ansem's computer." Leera answered. They were standing in the Bailey, which seemed to have been repaired somewhat since the war against the Heartless.

"This place was torn up." Axel commented, glancing around.

"It was worse." Leran told him, following his twin sister as she began to head towards the Restoration Site. The group followed them.

From the Restoration Site, they reached the Postern. It was almost too quiet…

"Stop right there. This place is off limits to civilians."

It was Axel who swung his chakram up to block the stun baton that was swung at the group. He twisted it around and pressed the weapon into the ground, before getting a good look at his attacker…

Both the Flurry of Dancing Flames and the attacker froze and gasped.

_Blue eyes… _

_Emerald eyes?_

_Red hair in a pony-tail… _

_Porcupine spike? Longer than I remember… _

"Lea?"

"Reno?"

"My little bro!" 'Reno' exclaimed, letting go of his weapon and wrapping his arms around the Nobody. "You're alive, yo! It's been years but you're alive!" Reno was slightly taller than Axel, and appeared to be several years older. Reno also wore a black suit, although rather casually. "I missed you, kid." Axel didn't answer, wishing he could say the same. Nobodies didn't have hearts… they couldn't care.

"Good to see you again." Axel commented as he stepped back.

"You, too."

"Axel? Introduction? Explanation?" Riku requested, completely lost.

"Oh… right…" Axel chuckled nervously. "Reno, this is Riku, and random people he knows that I don't. Riku and random people he knows that I don't, this is my Somebody's older brother, Reno."

"What do you mean by 'your Somebody'?" Reno questioned.

"It's a long story."

"Okay, back to why I attacked in the first place – what the hell are you doing here, yo? This place was roped off by the Restoration Committee."

"We have permission to be here." Riku spoke, flicking his wrist and summoning Soul Eater.

"Ah, I see. You should've spoken up earlier."

"You didn't give us the chance."

"Right, anyway… where are we going?"

"Ansem's computer." Leera answered.

"Right. This way, follow me, single file please!" Reno walked past them. Riku looked over and raised an eyebrow at Axel.

"He's joking – trying to sound all official."

"Oh."

The group turned and followed Reno, and, just for shit and giggles, walked in a single file line.

* * *

"Why do you guys need to access the computer?" Leon questioned Riku. He shrugged.

"Ask them." He pointed to Leera, Leran and Kazuya. Leon looked at them, and then hesitated.

"You guys…" He muttered.

"Leera, you're worse than Sora when it comes to knowing people, aren't you?" Riku sighed. Leera only smiled.

"Squall, no, Leon, I found Aqua and Ven. I need to use the computer to unlock the doorway to which they are hidden."

Leon stepped aside.

"Well, Riku?" Leera looked over at him. "You know the password." Riku walked over to the computer. Something was pressing on his heart… Darkness.

"I don't know it. Xehanort does." He snarled.

"What's the difference?"

Leera ducked, Soul Eater lodging into the wall behind her after nearly slicing her head off. Leon stepped between Riku and Leera to avoid any hostilities between the two.

Riku growled, clutching his chest, as he felt something trying to break free in his heart. Leera watched Riku's eyes flicker between light blue and yellow. He reached forward and began typing into the keyboard…

Leera smiled when a wall lit up and vanished. Riku fell to the ground, clutching his chest. Leon stepped over to him, placing a hand on the Keyblader of Darkness's shoulder to make sure that he was okay. Riku's eyes continued to flicker back and forth.

"Reno, stop her!"

Reno spun around, pointing his stun baton at the brunette woman who ran into the room, followed by a blond haired woman in a suit just like Reno's.

"Stop right there." Reno ordered. She stopped, but glanced around the room. A samurai sword resided in its hilt on her hip. She spotted Riku, and ignored Reno to dart to his side.

"Riku!" She wrapped her arm around his shoulders. Leon had stepped back. "Riku!" She repeated, watching his eyes.

"S-sa-am…" Riku shuddered. Sam ran her fingers through his hair.

"Who's that?" Axel asked.

"Samantha, Sora and Riku's older sister." Leon answered him. The group watched as the flickering in Riku's eyes slowed down, settling on sky blue, and he collapsed to the floor, exhausted. His chest burned, and his limbs felt numb.

"What's Sora gunna say when he sees you like this, Riku?" Sam asked. Riku didn't answer. "Riku?"

"S-Sora… Sora's dead!"

Samantha froze. Leon's face went pale.

"D-dead? Y-you s-sure?" Sam stuttered, trying to keep the tears welling up in her eyes from falling. Riku nodded.

"He died in my arms…"

"Oh Riku…" Sam pulled her brother into her arms and buried her face against his shoulder. Leera turned away.

"I'll be waking Ven and Aqua." She said, somewhat sourly. Kazuya sighed.

"She never changes. For a Princess of the Twilight, she's awfully heartless." He muttered, but followed his cousin none the less. Leran was close behind him.

* * *

"Aren't they coming?" Sam demanded from Leera. The group was back in Hyrule, the portal waiting open for Leera's friends to show up. Reno had stayed behind, saying that he couldn't leave the Turks on short notice, however, he told Axel to call him if they needed any help.

"They promised to meet us here after they find their leader." Leera answered. Sam growled, unsheathing her samurai sword and slashing at her. Soul Eater blocked it, and Samantha stared into the eyes of Riku's future self, the Fallen Angel. Riku had gone inside as soon as they had arrived.

"Don't be impatient, Sam." The Fallen Angel said before he darted away as a red and silver flash. Sam stood there, stunned.

"Who…?"

"My father." Leera replied sourly, turning away. "Kazuya, Leran, come on."

"Hey, you're not the Keyblade Master! Who said you can give orders?" Kazuya exclaimed.

"You're not her, either, Kazuya." Leera answered. "And if we do not hurry, she will cease to exist!" Kazuya gave Sam an apologetic look before following his cousins inside. Sam stood there, confused.

"Yo… I'm confused." Axel tilted his head slightly. Sam only nodded slowly.

* * *

"Tara, what are you doing? TARA! **TARA!**"

Tara finally looked up at Riku, muttered an 'oh shit' and quickly closed her laptop. "Reading fan fiction." Riku raised an eyebrow.

"Why would you read that stuff?" Riku asked.

"Rahs got me started on it. It's called yaoi."

"Rahs?"

"Sarah."

"Oh…" Riku shook his head. "I don't want to know."

"Fan girls have sick minds… take Rahs for example, you do not want to know some of the stuff she's showed me… or thought of."

"You're just as bad!" Sarah exclaimed as she walked into the room, something that looked like play dough in her hand. Riku shuddered as she took a piece off and ate it. "What? It's cookie dough…"

"It looks like play dough."

Sarah frowned. "Anyway…" She looked back at Tara. "Find anything good?"

"Yeah – Soku, AkuRoku, Xemsai, all your favorite pairings." She answered. "And some stuff you might like."

"Rating?"

"What do you think?"

"Yay!"

"I don't want to know. I don't want to know." Riku muttered as he turned and left the room. He walked down the hall a ways before yelling out. "WHAT THE FUCK IS YAOI?"

He could hear Tara and Sarah crack up laughing.

* * *

"Anyone seen Xion lately?" Axel asked Riku and Sam, both who shook their heads.

"Isn't she with Roxas?" The silver haired eighteen year old asked. Axel shook his head.

"Nope."

"That's odd… she's always with him."

"Maybe she needed some fresh air?" Sam suggested.

"I don't see why she'd be gone for very long, though, if that was the case." The Flurry of Dancing Flames frowned.

"Looking for No.i, Lea?"

Everyone turned to look at the blunette. Axel snarled, summoning his chakrams.

"Saїx! Where is she?"

"Safe, for now." He replied. "But if you don't hurry, those vines may suffocate her…"

"SAЇX!" Axel darted forwards, only to be blocked by a Berserker Nobody. He growled as several more of the large Nobodies appeared. Sam unsheathed her Samurai sword, and Riku summoned his Keyblade.

Three of the Nobodies fell before anyone had moved.

Riku, Sam and Axel stared at the three newcomers. One looked like Roxas's long lost identical twin, another was a young woman about Riku's age – seventeen-ish – and the last was a man a couple years older than her.

The three continued to attack the Nobodies, so Riku, Sam and Axel joined in until all of the Berserkers had been destroyed. Riku straightened up and allowed his blade to vanish. He looked over at the three newcomers. All had Keychain-less Keyblades, which they all allowed to vanish.

"Ventus! Aqua! Terra!"

The three looked up as three more people darted out of the palace and into the courtyard. Leera, Leran and Kazuya. They stopped a few meters from the group.

"It's been a few years, hasn't it?" The Roxas-lookalike commented, crossing his arms. Leera giggled slightly, causing Riku to raise an eyebrow.

"Thirteen at my last count, Ven."

"Geez."

"Where's Hannah?" The blue-haired young woman asked. Leera, Leran and Kazuya's expressions changed to solemn ones. "She's not dead, is she?"

"No, but she will be if we don't defeat Death and give Fate control of the Afterlife." Leera answered. "Death's killed Sora, and if we don't save him…"

"Hannah will cease to exist." The brown-haired man muttered. Leera nodded.

"OH!" Ventus seemed to remember something, and walked over to Leera. "I have something for you." He took her hands and cupped them between his own. Their hands lit up, dully at first, but then it got brighter and larger until everyone but Leera and Ven had to shield their eyes.

When the light dimmed and eventually faded away, Leera, Leran and Kazuya looked quite different.

Leera and Leran looked sixteen. Her clothing remained similar, although the pants changed to loose-fitting black jeans, and the sleeve-less zip shirt was now too big for her, but she was physically shorter, and so was her hair, which now only reached past her chin. She still had her army boots. She also had a spiked choker around her neck, and matching wristbands.

Leran was the same height as his twin, wearing loose fitting black pants and a silver shirt.

Kazuya was wearing a black medieval style cloak, with black pants and a silver shirt that was cut off diagonally. On the right side it stopped at his hip, the left at his knee. He appeared to be only thirteen. On his left wrist was Roxas's checkerboard wristband, and he had a matching choker around his neck.

All three looked over themselves, and laughed. Leera practically tackled Ven, although he managed to keep his balance and on his feet.

"Thank you."

Ventus smiled. "Don't mention it."

Riku looked over at Ven's two companions. Why did they seem familiar? "I'm Riku. Who are you two?" He asked.

"I'm Terra," the man answered, "and this is Aqua."

"Leera and Ven seem pretty close." Riku crossed his arms, watching the two chat back and forth.

"Their hearts are connected." Aqua answered him. "By the age of sixteen a Princess must've made a connection to someone. Leera would've died if she hadn't connected her heart to Ven's. Their connection is powerful, and thus they almost know what the other is thinking."

"That's why Leera wanted to wake him up so badly… that she'd risk Xehanort…" Riku didn't finish his sentence, because Aqua and Terra had looked at him with questioning glances. He shook his head. "Long story."

"Is that Ventus?"

Riku looked over his shoulder at Tara, who suddenly let out a fangirl-like squeal and then darted up to Terra, then Aqua. "AndTerraandAquaohmygodtheentiretrio'sheresomeonekillmenow."

Riku smacked her up the side of the head.

"Preeeeeeetty stars…" Tara let out a 'whee!' before collapsing. Riku stared at her.

"FINALLY!" He exclaimed. "SOME PEACE AND QUIET! Please tell me we're sending her back to earth…" Terra shook his head, and Aqua sighed. "I should probably get her inside…"

"Probably." Terra agreed. Riku frowned.

"SARAH! COME GET TARA!"

* * *

"We have to go to Earth. It's the only way to find the Organization." Ven shook his head. He, Terra, Aqua, Riku, Leera, Kazuya, Leran, Link, Tara and Sarah were all sitting in a small closed off lounge room. Tara's laptop was on the dark, round coffee table. "You said Reno was willing to help out if we needed him, right?" Ventus asked Axel, who nodded. "What about Arlene?" Axel looked down.

"Arlene, or rather, Larxene, is on the other team."

"Ah. Right." Ven looked back at the computer. "What if we were to send in a decoy?"

"What do you mean? Anyone we send in, they already know to be on our side. Saїx and Axel have already attacked." Riku commented.

"What about Roxas? Or Xion?"

"Same thing." Tara answered. "Saїx would've killed Axel if Roxas and Xion hadn't shown up."

"Hmm…" Ven frowned.

"Wait…" Tara began to pace. "Sarah, Castle Oblivion Incident."

"Larxene, Marluxia, Vexen, Lexaeus and Zexion were sent to Castle Oblivion to track Sora's movements." Sarah began. Tara nodded. "The Dusks brought whisperings of betrayal back so Axel was dispatched. Larxene and Marluxia schemed to take over the Organization… I think I see where you're going with this…"

"Larxene can be convinced, can't she? If it means taking out Xemnas…"

"She and Marluxia just might…" Axel realized what they were saying now. "All we have to do is find Larxene…"

Easier said than done.


	8. Gaming Convention

Author's notes: There's a section that references Renovamen chapter 8 in this chapter...

**Warned**

"Guys…" Sarah slowly stepped into the lounge room. "Has anyone seen Tara?" Riku frowned, and then looked at Leera, Leran, Kazuya Terra, Aqua, Axel, Naminѐ, Link and Midna, all who shook their heads.

"Xion hasn't been seen, either. Or Kairi, for that matter." Kazuya commented.

"Or Ventus. Something's wrong." Leera shook her head, holding a hand over her heart. Aqua and Terra watched her closely. "Fear… of what, I'm not sure, but it's not mine."

"Think the Organization kidnapped them?" Kazuya suggested.

"Not possible." Midna shook her head. "There are Twili guards everywhere. I don't know much about this Organization, but there's no way they could get in undetected."

"Something smells like the Fishing Hole…" Link muttered.

"Sarah, what's the first place Tara would run to if she escaped capture and was trying to meet us?" Riku asked the teenaged blond haired girl.

Sarah frowned. "Let me grab my laptop." She turned and left the room, returning with a very small, white laptop. She opened it and then double clicked on the 'internet explorer' icon. After going to Google, she typed 'Gaming Anime Convention Brisbane'. "There." She clicked on the link. "There's a convention on this weekend at the convention center… She'd probably head there. Actually… I think that's the con she used to go to with Kyle and that every year…"

"So she'll be there?"

"Most likely."

"When is it?"

"Two days."

"Get packed. We're going." Riku turned and left the room.

"Won't we stand out?" Terra questioned.

"Not at a gaming convention." Sarah replied.

* * *

Tara sighed, staring at the screen on her laptop. At least she'd been allowed to hold onto that. Ventus was pacing in front of her, Xion was beside her, being a very, very brave soul and reading her online role play over her shoulder. Kairi was elsewhere. The three were in a small, dark room, probably about the size of a small bedroom.

"Explain that to me again…" Xion pointed to the screen.

"Mainly, it's a long inside joke." Tara answered her.

"And…?"

Tara sighed. "VRM, which stands for Ven, Roxas and Mase, was, or were, accidentally killed by you when you absorbed Roxas's strength. Aqua got pissed off because she thought Ven was killed in the process, stole Reno's knife and tried to kill you. Scout, a humanoid, bipedal American Water Spaniel, pulled the knife from her hand, and then Reno ordered her and Terra to leave. Then Roxas showed up as a ghost and everyone began to think that you were delusional, until he decided to play a bit of a prank on everyone by manipulating various pieces of furniture and pulling people's hair. Then he started writing on the table and stuff…"

"What does this have to do with the thermal vision?"

"…Good question. Did you even understand what I just said?"

"No."

"Didn't think so." Tara sighed. "I really need to finish that Soku AMV Rahs wanted me to do… and that Larxene AMV… and I think there was another one I was going to do…" Xion gave up trying to understand a word Tara was saying. "Awwwwww… that convention's on in two days." Tara sulked. "I'm gunna miss it… I was supposed to go cosplaying with Ven and Terra… and Yuffie was going to tag along… and Yuna… and Vexen… and they were going to ask Demyx if he was coming… and Ven was going to bring Roxas with him…" She sighed. By this point Ventus and Xion had long given up trying to understand her.

* * *

"Memories… let's hope there are no undercover immigration officers, shall we?" Riku commented as they walked into the convention, having paid and everything else. "Sarah, you know Tara better than us. Go find her." Sarah nodded and ran off… to the arcade. Riku sighed. "I should've known."

"There are several Nobodies here." Aqua muttered, glancing around.

"Wouldn't surprise me." Riku sighed.

* * *

Tara frowned, crossing her arms. Lexaeus followed behind her, and, frankly, she did not want to get Larxene-slapped by him, so she obediently stayed away from where he told her not to go. She could see Xion nearby, being followed by Saїx. Ventus appeared to be alone, but Xigbar was staying within shooting range to him.

She then spotted a couple of, rather familiar cosplayers.

"Lexaeus?" She asked innocently, "can I go talk to those two?" She asked, pointing to the two of them. Lexaeus nodded. Tara ran over to them, and glomped the shorter one, a Ventus cosplayer.

"VENTUS! I missed you!"

"A-Aqua?" The cosplayer stuttered, having been knocked over by her. The taller one, a Terra cosplayer, chuckled at the two of them. Tara got off him and offered him a hand, which he took. She pulled him to his feet.

"Hiya, Terra." She waved. "Did Yuff and that come with you?"

"Maybe…"

"Why may-AK, BAD YUFFIE! GET OFF." Tara squeaked as someone tackled her from behind, wrapping their arms around her neck.

"AKI!"

"Bad Yuffie!" Repeated a third person, this one not cosplaying. He had dark hair, and was shoulder height to the Terra cosplayer, who Tara remembered was six-foot-two. 'Yuffie' let go, sulking. She wasn't cosplaying, either, and had short, blond hair. She was also shorter than Tara (which was quite a feat).

"Aww, dun sulk, Yuffie!" Tara wrapped her arm around the younger girl's shoulders. "By the way, hey, Vexen! Demyx here?"

"He's off somewhere." The Ventus cosplayer shrugged.

"Did you bring Roxas?"

"Yeah, he's over there." He pointed over to the arcade. Tara spotted the ten year old, dark haired boy they had nicknamed Roxas, but she also spotted someone else. Riku. And not a cosplayer. The _real _Riku.

"Jamie, you see that Riku cosplayer over there?" Tara asked 'Yuffie' quietly. She nodded. "Go over to him and tell him that Tara, Xion and Ventus are nearby but can't talk." Jamie ran over to the arcade. Tara looked over at Lexaeus when he made a brisk grunt-like noise. "Coming." She sighed. "See you around, guys." She, rather miserably, walked over to Lexaeus.

* * *

"HI THERE!"

Riku blinked at the, apparently hyper, short, blond haired girl beside him. "Hello?" What did she want, a photo?

"Aki wanted me to tell you that 'Tara, Xion and Ventus are nearby but can't talk' okay goodbye!" She turned and ran off.

"Sarah, who's that girl?" He asked. Sarah looked over.

"Jamie, I think… her nickname's Yuffie because she's so hyper."

"Yeah… I can understand that…"

"…"

"…"

"The cosplay competition will be starting soon…"

"Maybe we'll find the others."

"Maybe…"

* * *

Riku crossed his arms. There was something… fishy about the twelve Organization members standing on the stage for the cosplay competition. Everyone but Axel and Roxas was there.

"So, I notice that you're missing a couple of people…" The guy with the microphone, that is really only there to move the skits along, commented.

"Yeah… Roxas called in sick and Axel's taking care of him." Xion answered. There were a couple cheers from the back, and someone yelled 'is it a boy or a girl?' Sarah, who was sitting beside Riku, cracked up laughing. The silverette rubbed his temples. _How much longer do I have to put up with this? I don't know who's __**worse**__, Tara or Sarah! _

Tara, meanwhile, was curled up in one of the back seats, compared to the group who was up the front. She noticed Xigbar, who had his guns in his hands, was watching them. He attached the two guns…

Riku found himself hitting the ground as the chair he had been sitting in a moment ago gained a hole in the back. Tara looked over at him.

"You okay?"

"Fine." He answered. Tara gulped as Saїx stepped off the stage, summoning his claymore. All of the innocent people in the area ran away.

"Tara, Sarah, get behind us." Terra and Aqua stood up, summoning their Keyblades. The two earth girls did so, moving back behind the Keybladers.

"I wouldn't do that." Saїx chided.

Sarah looked beside her. "Tara?" She called. The girl was no longer there. Everyone looked over, then back to the stage. Zexion had a hold of the girl, his hand over her mouth and a knife to her throat. Tara looked at the group, a panicked look in her eyes.

"One wrong move… and I'll kill her." Zexion warned.

"Tara!"

"Kyle, you idiot! Get back here!"

Everyone looked over their shoulders at the two. One had dark brown hair, and was about Tara's age and slightly taller than her. One looked to be a couple years older and was over six feet tall, with light brown hair. Both were wearing casual clothing (this surprised Tara, as she had seen them cosplaying not long ago). The short, blond haired girl who had passed Tara's message onto Riku was with them as well. The tallest one had a hold of the darker haired boy's arm. Everyone disregarded them and turned back to the Nobodies. Lexaeus had grabbed Xion to keep her from playing hero. Tara closed her eyes, simply waiting for the knife to slice her throat. As a fanfiction writer, she wondered what it would be like, the pain. She had always described pain in her writing… but… what would this be like? Would her death be fast? Slow? Painful? Numb? She could only wonder.

Nothing happened.

She opened her eyes when she felt herself pulled off the stage and caught by someone.

"Thanks, Adam." She thanked her friend after he gently placed her on the ground.

"Don't mention it." He answered. "Go to Kyle." She nodded and ran off. Adam looked over at Zexion, who was picking himself up off the floor. Saїx and Axel were both nowhere to be seen. "I'll deal with this one." He said, turning to look at Riku and the others. They nodded. Link drew his sword, and the Keybladers all brandished their blades. Xion was still firmly in Lexaeus' grip, however, and was unable to fight.

Riku noted that Kazuya and Leran's weapons were in fact, Keyblades. Kazuya had Oblivion and Oathkeeper in his hands, while Leran had Way to the Dawn.

Adam laughed at the sight of Zexion's 'weapon'. "A book? Man, that's crazy!" He exclaimed. Zexion didn't answer him, the pages flicking seemingly of their own accord. At first, Adam assumed that he was about to use magic. Until this proved to be a ruse and quickly closed the book, raising it to strike Adam on the head with the spine. Adam caught the book and Zexion's wrist, before twisting his arm around.

"You couldn't hit my head if you tried! You're a midget!" Adam commented. Truth was, he was probably the tallest out of everyone there. He spun Zexion around and placed his thumb behind his shoulder. Zexion looked out of it for a moment, before falling unconscious. The overly tall teenager let go of his arm and let him fall to the ground.

"That was too easy." He muttered.

Riku clutched his arm. Terra swung at Saїx…

But all the Organization XIII members vanished. Xion collapsed to the ground, trembling slightly.

"Why did they run away?" Adam almost pouted. "Cowards!"

"Don't tempt them." Riku muttered. "One at a time is a breeze. All at once… no. Not good." Adam nodded.

"Guess you got a point there."

"We've got to get you guys out of here." Riku muttered. "It's not safe on Earth anymore."

"Y'think?" Adam raised an eyebrow. Riku chuckled.

"Let's get out of here." Tara muttered, sitting on the floor and hugging her knees. Riku opened a portal. Tara, rather shakily, got to her feet and stumbled through it after Sarah. The others followed behind her.

* * *

"Tara, you okay?"

Tara looked up as Riku stepped into the room.

"Do you normally care?" She asked, going back to the laptop sitting on her lap. Riku stood there for a moment, surprised at the girl's sour attitude. "If you really want to know, I'm better than a couple days ago." Riku nodded, then eyed the pendant around her neck.

"How long've you had that?"

"Sorry?"

"The pendant."

"Oh," Tara looked down at her necklace. The chain was silver colored, with a bronze Oathkeeper pendant. "Kyle gave it to me ages ago… I thought I lost it, but Kyle found it at his house. He has one of Oblivion." Riku chuckled amusedly. Tara glared at him. "You're almost worst than the school girls… only by now they'd have told all their friends."

"And you?"

"I'm an outcast. Give me a computer and I'm happy." Tara answered, going back to her laptop. Riku, despite having been scarred for life last time he had done this, walked over and looked over her shoulder.

**Renovamen 8 - Microsoft Word non-commercial use**

"Renovamen?" He asked her.

"Fanfiction I'm writing." Tara answered. "T-rated, don't worry." She smirked when Riku exhaled sharply. "You can read it if you want."

"Will I end up scarred?"

"No." Tara laughed. Riku sighed, and looked at what she was writing.

_Zack exhaled sharply as Myde fell into the sea water. He wished he knew whether Lumen was alive or not… he looked up as Advocatus stepped clumsily onto the deck._

_"How's your side?"_

_"Better." Advocatus answered. "Where's Lumen?" Zack shook his head._

_"I don't know. The ship's captain's gone to go find him."_

_"Where could he have gone?"_

_"Myde showed up while you were out of it. We threw him overboard, but not after he knocked Lumen off the ship."_

_Advocatus's eyes widened. "Why are you just standing here, then?" He demanded._

_"There's nothing I can do. Someone has to mind the boat. Besides, Jack's already gone to go find him. Advocatus, wait!"_

_Advocatus didn't listen, diving over the edge of the boat._

_"Damn it."_

"Who's all in that?"

"You're Advocatus, Sora is Lumen."

"Why Advocatus?"

"Advocatus Diaboli is Latin for Devil's Advocate. You'd have to read the rest to figure out who people call you that."

"Long story short?"

"Everyone has been reborn – hence the name Renovamen, which means 'rebirth'. Xemnas has taken control of the worlds and melded them together. You were taken from your parents at birth to be raised as Xemnas's personal servant, assassin, etc. Due to a few assassinations at your hands, and the fact that no one likes Xemnas, earned you the name 'Advocatus Diaboli', seeing as you weren't named at birth."

"Have fun." Riku muttered, turning and leaving the room. He stopped, however, when Tara screamed. He turned back and returned to the room. Tara was still alone with her laptop, but she had a horrified look on her face, and her skin was ghost pale.

"What's wrong?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Th…the Organization… is attacking Seattle…"

"Why did we scream?"

"Seattle is my hometown! It's my Destiny Isles!"

"Oh…"


	9. Seattleite Antiform

Author's note: You know you have bad writer's block when you can't even write fanfiction… this chapter is hell short…

**Warned**

"Tara, I don't see anyone."

"Exactly!" Tara hissed back at Riku. They were darting through what seemed like a bit of an underground pathway, although they looked off to the side and saw the outside. It was pretty much all closed in except for the sides, which were nonexistent in this area, letting in a cool breeze. "The Pike Place Market is _always _busy, Riku. That's now I know something's up here. There's no music, no hustle and bustle of the city…" she glanced at the abandoned and ruined fish stall as they passed. It reeked heavily of fish, the bodies of which were left along the floor. "No fish throwers…" she sighed, but then looked back to the path ahead of her.

"Do you know where we're going?"

"We're not _going_ anywhere, we're _searching_." Aqua corrected Riku. Jamie, the blond girl who had been nicknamed Yuffie, nodded. She noticed that Tara stopped as they came to a small music shop.

"There's someone in there." Riku remarked. "No Organization, though." He tried to peer in through the window, but the blinds were closed tightly.

"Can we see who?" Tara asked.

"Let her go in." Terra told Riku. The silverette sighed and opened a portal.

"I'm coming, too." He muttered. Tara nodded. Sarah, Kyle and Adam followed her though the portal, and Riku followed them.

A brunette teenage boy, about Tara's age, darted out from behind the shelf with a fist raised, ready to punch them. Riku was going to stop him, but Adam darted forwards and grabbed his arm.

"Terra, let him go." Tara ordered, using her nickname for the six foot two teenager. She then looked over at the teen, and her eyes widened. "J-Jacob?"

"T-Tara?" He stuttered as Adam released his arm. "Holy… It's Tara!" He hugged her quickly. Tara returned the gesture. "Guys, it's Tara!" He called around the corner. A couple more teenagers emerged, one a boy with long, brownish hair that gave him a slight appearance of having Native American blood in him, a girl with short, bright, blond hair and a teenage boy with short brunette hair who seemed to be slightly older than the others. All were about Tara's age.

"Dalton? Sarah? Chase?" Tara was in complete shock, and then found herself tackled by the girl. She managed to keep her balance, however, returning the gesture.

"How long are you here for?" The first boy, who Tara had called 'Jacob', asked her as the girl released her.

"Not for long." Tara answered. "Just flushing out a few Nobodies."

"A few what?" The part Native American boy asked her.

"The people attacking Seattle." Tara explained.

"The terrorist group?"

"If that's what they've been dubbed, yes."

"Why're you guys handling it?"

"Because the army doesn't know what it's up against." She looked over at the second boy with brunette hair, who appeared to be slightly older than the others. "Chase?"

"We were told that you were dead." He told her. Tara's heart skipped a beat.

"Oh…"

The rather awkward silence was cut by Riku's radio.

"_We've got company." _

"Who is it?" Riku asked Ven.

"_Blue hai- HEY!" _

"_It's Saїx." _Axel answered for him, since the Keyblade Knight seemed ignorant of who Saїx was. Tara darted back through the portal, reaching into her pocket as she did.

"Tara!" Riku darted after her, Adam attempted to stop her, Kyle managed to grab onto her shirt, but his grip slipped. Sarah – the Aussie one – was off in her own little world. "FUCK. She's gunna get herself killed!" He swore as he darted through the portal. Adam and Kyle were close behind her.

"What'd I miss?" Sarah asked, snapping back into reality.

* * *

"Tara!" Riku slid to a stop. The girl was already standing a little ways down the hall, face-to-face with Saїx. The Keyblader of Darkness could barely see a barrier cutting them off from her and the Luna Diviner. "Goddamn it." He heard the four people left in the music shop show up from the portal.

Saїx raised an eyebrow at Tara, who seemed to be mouthing something, but he couldn't quite make it out. He called Lunatic to his hand, watching her carefully. He was sure he was overestimating her, but it was better than underestimating the Earth girl. The brunette girl eyed Lunatic nervously. He was definitely overestimating her power.

He lashed forwards, and Tara stepped back quickly. She then darted around him and kicked him in the back. It didn't affect him much, he simply used the momentum to spin around and swing his claymore at her. She ducked under it and kicked at his feet. He easily stepped back. She scrambled to her feet as she darted towards him, and punched his shoulder. He stabbed his claymore into her stomach, and she was sent flying back. She clutched her stomach, grunting as she forced herself to her feet. She shot forwards again, this time slipping into a baseball slide at his feet. Her foot collided with his shin and he stepped backwards, surprised. Tara quickly rolled away and stood up.

"She's not dead yet?" Riku muttered in surprise. It was a good thing, but he really didn't expect Tara to last a second against Saїx. It just didn't seem logical that she would be physically able to do so, even with an adrenaline rush – and he was certain she was under the influence of one. No person in their sane mind would go and fight Saїx unarmed.

"Look at her ears." Sarah instructed. The Keyblader did so… was that a headphone? "She's like Demyx – her mind's not on the fight, it's on the beat of the music."

"How's that supposed to help her?"

Sarah shrugged.

Tara jumped back as Saїx lunged the Lunatic at her feet. The girl still seemed to be mouthing something, but he couldn't figure out what.

Riku's nose suddenly filled with a smell worse than that of the dead fish; Darkness. Terra, Aqua and Ven shuddered as they felt the air change. The Keyblader of Darkness looked at the shadows. They were contorting and… _moving_? They began circling Tara, who was standing still, still mouthing something. The darkness began spiraling up her legs, then around her midsection…

Saїx starred at the girl in front of him in shock as she crouched down, yellow eyes glowing brightly as her head twitched. Never mind. He had never been overestimating her. He'd been underestimating the girl the entire time.

The Earthling had an _Antiform._

Riku stared at Tara, eyes wide. Sarah looked at her in surprise, laughing in shock. To the Keybladers, however, this was no laughing matter.

_What if she can't revert? _Terra wondered.

_What if she can't cope? _Aqua asked herself.

_What if she isn't in control? _Ven thought.

_What if the Darkness destroys her heart?_ Riku would rather not lose an ally – no matter how useless or useful they were, it meant another Heartless and possibly a Nobody to kill.

Tara found that she had complete control, this surprised her, but she also heard the music she had been listening to this entire time. But the song had changed. She listened for the lyrics…

_Well it's midnight – damn right – we're wound up too tight._

A-hah.

Saїx swore he saw a smirk on the Antiform's face as it shot forwards on all fours. It charged an orb of Darkness in front of it, which exploded when Tara was right in front of the Luna Diviner. He stumbled back, his face and neck burned by the darkness, the rest of him protected by his cloak. The girl was nowhere to be seen. The darkness began to seep together and reform into Tara's Antiform.

"It seems I have majorly underestimated you. This will call for a change of plans." Saїx remarked as he vanished into a portal. Riku stiffened as the barrier fell, only to relax when the darkness seeped from Tara's skin and faded into nothingness. She found herself pinned to the wall. Riku ripped the headphones from her ears.

"**What the FUCK was that?**" He demanded. Tara stuttered a response. "Not only bolting out there, when the _hell_ were you planning on telling us that you have an _**ANTIFORM**_?"

"I didn't know! I didn't know I had an Antiform! I didn't even know I could _fight_!" Tara replied desperately. Riku stared her in the eyes. She stared back. He stepped back, releasing her. She slumped against the wall.

"Could you control it?"

"Somewhat." Tara answered.

"Be careful using it. The Darkness erodes the heart."

"I know." She lowered her head, then picked up her Ipod, turning it off and putting it in her pocket. She looked over at the teens they found in the music store. They all stepped back. Tara sighed, and stared at the floor again. "Let's get out of here."

"Aki?" Jamie asked, placing a hand on her. "Aki okay?"

"I'll be fine, Yuffie." Tara answered, shaking her head. She looked over at the teens. "Who are you guys with?"

"School." The blond girl answered, rather curtly.

"Let's get you guys back, then." Terra nodded. "We'll worry about it, Riku."

"How will you get back?" The silverette asked.

"I'll go with them." Axel told him.

"Be careful. You never know where the Organization might be lurking." He opened a portal. Tara quickly darted into it, wanting nothing more than to disappear. Adam, Kyle and Jamie followed. Riku followed them.


	10. Australian Elementalist

Author's notes: SORRY! Sorry sorry sorry! I didn't mean to take this long... I was distracted with lack of motivation. The distraction is called Final Fantasy X. And Kingdom Hearts I. I won't tell you the story on that one because you wouldn't believe me. Anyway, enjoy this very, very late chapter 10.

Did I mention that installment in the Keyblader Trio series this is going to be longer then the other in the main series (can't say the same for the side stories).

Also, poll, on my profile, vote if you haven't.

**Warned**

Riku sighed, running a hand through his hair. Tara had gone missing inside the palace somewhere, not coming out from hiding under any circumstances. He could smell her, but he couldn't find her. She was using her powers of Darkness for something. He wasn't sure if it was practice or if she was actually looking for something, but whatever it was, she was using Darkness, and he couldn't stop her. Darkness corrodes the heart, she knew that from all the Kingdom Hearts information she knew, and yet she wasn't afraid of it. He couldn't help but wonder why, wonder how. He had asked Sarah, but she simply smiled and told him that everything needed to be in balance. Whatever that meant.

The Keyblader of Darkness left the room that had become his bedroom, and would probably continue to be for some time, and wandered down the hall of the Palace of Twilight. No one had figured out Hannah's riddle yet. If Tara had, she hadn't said anything.

Everyone was handling various aspects of their search. Xion, Sarah, Axel, Roxas (when he was awake, as he and Ventus could not be awake at the same time) were trying to plan out where the Organization was most likely to strike. Terra, Aqua and Ven (when he was awake) were trying to locate the misplaced islanders. Link and the rest of the Twilis were constantly on guard for any Organization members in the Twilight Realm. Adam and Kyle were on Earth, watching for any 'terrorist' activity. Leera, Leran and Kazuya were trying to find a way to fight Death and survive. And Riku? Riku was trying to locate Kairi. The Princess of Heart had been kidnapped with Tara, Xion and Ven, but she had yet to be found. And so far, all he knew was that she was still being held captive. Riku sighed, shaking his head.

"Kairi's missing, Sora's dead…"

"I told you, he's not dead."

Riku jumped and spun around, summoning Soul Eater, only to realize it was Xion that had spoken. "Sorry." He apologized, relaxing and allowing Soul Eater to vanish.

"Everyone's edgy lately." Xion shook her head. "I understand."

"Anything new on the Organization?" Riku asked her.

"They attacked Destiny Isles, then Seattle, right?" She replied as the two began walking down the hallway. "Destiny Isles is close to you, Sora and Kairi. Seattle is close to Tara, and thus means something to her friends. They're attacking places they think mean something to us."

"So if we made a place seem close to us, and stay there, it'll lure them out?" Riku questioned. Xion nodded. "How do we plan on doing that?"

"Go back to Earth, find a place and make it seem important to us." Xion answered.

"Great." Riku muttered sarcastically. "Last I checked, immigration's still after me, Roxas and Sora."

"You, and Roxas don't have to _be_ there." Xion replied. "I'm sure Tara's been practicing. She could probably hide you."

"I'm _not _using the Darkness." Riku growled.

"Well, then, we'll send Tara, Sarah, Kyle and Adam in alone."

"What about Jaime?"

"You didn't hear? She went back to Earth because her and Tara got into a spat." Xion answered.

"What about?"

"Jaime's been stealing food and taking money from Tara."

"What's she using the money for?"

"Food."

"That defeats the purpose of stealing food…"

"Hmm. Tara's even gone as far as to stop calling her Yuffie."

"Geez." Riku scratched the back of his neck. "So, we're sending them back to earth?"

"To school." Xion specified. Riku chuckled.

"They may not like that."

"It won't be for too long, if our plan proves successful." Xion explained. "Send them to school, make school look important to them, the Organization attacks, and ta-da." She waved her hands as if to emphasize her point. Riku sighed.

"They're not gunna like it."

* * *

Tara slammed her head on the table. "I DUN WANNA GO TO SCHOOL!" She whined. Riku sighed, shooting Xion an 'I told you so' look.

"Come on, we can show off." Sarah suggested.

"Show off what?"

"We're not as sucky at sport anymore, I'm sure. I mean, you fought Saїx and _survived._ Surely you at least can't be horrible at sport."

"I had an Antiform…" Tara sighed.

"You managed to protect yourself before you entered Antiform." Aqua remarked to the girl.

"I guess…" The brunette sighed.

"It's just for a little while, Tara." Riku assured her.

"I don't have a choice, do I?"

"Nope."

"Didn't think so."

* * *

"I really, really never thought we'd be back here." Tara muttered as Riku dropped her and Sarah off in the car park to their old high school. The two girls, in their dark blue and white school uniforms, grabbed their bags and left the car, with a 'see you, Riku,' as they closed the doors. Riku grabbed his radio.

"They're on their way in."

"_I see them." _Aqua's voice responded. _"I'm in the staff room by their lockers. No one else is here right now." _

"So, just keep an eye on them, help with Learning Support to keep yourself employed and watch for any Organization activity." Riku reminded her. "Terra and Xion are across the road, I'll be down the street, and anyone else we need is ready to come if needed."

"_Yep. Someone's coming. I'll radio if anything happens." _

Riku put his radio away. They had to keep someone within the school premises, and the school just happened to need a Learning Support teacher, so, after some help fudging credentials, they managed to get Aqua into the job to keep an eye on Tara and Sarah. He pulled the black car out of the parking lot, glancing out the tinted windows. He couldn't risk being seen. A black assassin's jacket, loaned to him by his future self, hid his clothing, and he had his hair hidden under a black ball cap. He was not risking anything.

He parked the car a ways down the road, then turned it off and sat there, waiting for either three o'clock, or a radio call.

* * *

Tara was tempted to slam her head down on the desk. Why? Math. They were revising perimeter of an ark or something they'd done in year eight, then again in year nine, now in year ten. They could've been in year eleven, but Kyle and Adam were in year ten, plus the two girls had missed year ten, and Riku decided to put them into the year they missed. PE was next. They were going down to the soccer field for a game of soccer. They had been here for about a month, and no sign of Organization XIII was visible. The class was in their sports uniform. Tara glanced over her shoulder as Adam passed a note to her. She unfolded it.

'_Tu oui drehk Xion'c bmyh femm fung?' _

Tara quickly recognized the Al Bhed and managed to translate most of it off the top of her head. The rest she picked out from missing letters.

'_Do you think Xion's plan will work?' _

She quickly scratched down a response: '_E tihhu. Hud cu vyn. _I dunno.' Not so far.

She passed the note back to Adam.

Not soon enough, the bell rang loudly. Everyone packed up and, once dismissed, bolted out to the ovals.

It was too easy for Tara, Sarah, Kyle and Adam to recognize the blunette talking to the two PE teachers. She looked up and smiled at them.

"Hey, you four."

"Hey, Aqua." They answered. One of the PE teachers gave them a very stern look. They all felt very small until he looked away.

The group was divided into two groups of two teams, one playing on one field, the other group on the second field. Sarah and Adam were on one team in the second group, Tara and Kyle in the other. Of course, on this field, there was a group of markers surrounding where some birds had laid their eggs. Stupid birds, laying them on the ground instead of in a tree.

It wasn't long before the game started. Tara, although the other kids seemed to reject her and Kyle on the team, bolted forwards to quickly take the ball. She shuffled away from Adam with it, then passed it onto Kyle, who turned and took a shot at the goal. The goalie managed to knock it away, where Sarah stole it. She passed it to Adam, but it was intercepted by one of the kids on Tara and Kyle's team, who passed it back to another team member, who missed it. Several people went for it.

They froze when Tara screamed, falling to the ground. She rolled so she was sitting, her right leg extended out in front of her. The teachers ran to her side. A strange, white-hot dart-like arrow projectile was stuck in her leg. Xigbar. Aqua saw this, and grabbed her phone from her pocket.

* * *

Riku picked up his cell phone. He was parked just across the road from the school. He answered it. "Speak."

"_It's Aqua. Number two has shown." _

"I'll radio the others and come right down." The Keyblader of Darkness hung up. He abandoned the baseball cap, letting his hair fall. He grabbed his radio. "Number two has shown." He repeated Aqua's message, then got out of the car and ran towards the school.

* * *

Tara hissed as Aqua carefully removed the dart from her leg. She wrapped a bandage around the wound, but muttered 'cura' under her breath. The brunette Seattleite resisted the urge to smirk. She nodded her thanks.

"Well, well, been awhile since I saw any of you lot."

Aqua stood as she heard Xigbar's voice. He looked genuinely surprised for a moment.

"Well, if it isn't the Keyblade Mistress herself." He remarked. Aqua only crossed her arms. "I'm not here for you. We've all seen what you've done."

"Braig, turn around, and walk away."

"No." He answered. He turned and walked slowly towards Sarah. Aqua went to stop him, only to slam into a barrier.

"Aqua!"

Aqua looked over to see Terra, Ven and Riku bolt up to the group.

"What'd we miss?" Terra asked, helping her to her feet.

"I think they're testing Sarah."

Sarah, meanwhile, was pouting. "But I can't be bothered fighting you!" She whined. Xigbar rolled his eyes.

"You have no choice." He readied his guns.

"Rahs!" Tara exclaimed.

Xigbar fired a shot, which Sarah barely avoided. She managed to evade several more, before it became easier for her. She smirked, then twisted her hand around. The grass began to twist, until it shot up into a vine, shooting for Xigbar. He shot it down. Apparently he'd fought with Marluxia a couple times.

"Aqua, use a Fire spell!" Tara exclaimed. "Aim it towards them."

"Why?"

"Trust me!"

Aqua, hesitantly, shot a fire spell towards the barrier. It began to warp, then shot through the barrier towards the Freeshooter, who had to duck to avoid it. He glared at Sarah, aiming his guns at her.

"Let's see you dance."

"Someone's hung out with Demyx a bit to mu-UUUUUUUCH." Sarah quickly began running in circles around Xigbar to avoid the shooting. Tara, meanwhile, had taken her school ball cap and was smacking her forehead with the brim.

"What?" Kyle laughed at her.

"Yaoi." She whined.

"I like trees."

"I HATECHU VEN." Tara slammed her fist on the ground. She looked over at Adam. "Terra, Ven's teasing the yaoi fangirl." Adam just pointed and laughed at her.

Xigbar had ceased shooting circles at Sarah, ducking quickly when a bird swooped them for being too close to the net. It altered directions suddenly and smacked Xigbar in the face. He howled in pain. It was then Tara realized what Sarah had done. She, like Tara, had gained a power. Sarah could alter the elements around her to her will, and she'd altered the air to send the bird swooping Xigbar. Sent it right at his eye. A black hole was all that remained. Xigbar turned and fled.

By this point, sirens were wailing. Riku swore.

"Let's get outta here." He quickly opened a portal. The group all darted through it, leaving Earth once more.


	11. Riddle of December 22nd

Author's notes: … Why am _**I **_always getting beat up? I apologize for the late update ^^;. My writer's block has been really bad. But school's almost over for the year, so I'll have more time to write.

**Warned**

"That was AWESOME, Rahs!" Tara exclaimed as they, literally, bounced through the Palace of Twilight. Riku sighed, watching the two hyperactive girls. She paused as music began playing from her pocket.

'_I'm not ready to make nice, I'm not ready to back down, still mad…'_

The music stopped as she pulled her phone out and answered it. "Yo, Edo… Are you serious? That's awesome! …Yeah, why? …Mhm."

Riku left her and her friends to their own devices, following Terra, Aqua and Ventus to the small lounge they'd taken over as their meeting place.

"So," Xion looked up from the maps her and Axel were scanning, "how'd it go?"

"Sarah sent a bird at Xigbar and poked his eye out." Ventus answered. "It was kind of amusing." Xion smiled. The Freeshooter was as good as gone now, since he was blind in both eyes now (what, you thought he wore the eye patch for show?).

"So the blond fangirl got some ability now?" Axel questioned. Riku nodded, although he was smirking.

"Yeah, she can manipulate the elements around her." Aqua explained. "She used the air to send the bird at Xigbar."

"Nice." Axel chuckled.

"Anything new?"

"We believe they'd be hiding somewhere they could escape notice." Xion answered. "It could be anywhere from Ayer's Rock to the North Pole to any climate in between. It's not like they have to be worried about being close to their target."

"That's what I was worried about." Riku sighed. "Anything on Sora?"

"Sorry, Riku." Xion shook her head.

Riku sighed. "That's okay."

"Hey, Riku, you remember Rachael?" Axel asked. The silverette nodded.

"She was my sister. How could I forget?"

The replica stood, brushing a strand of black hair from her eyes. "Follow me." She left the room. The Keyblader of Darkness, confused as he was, followed her.

Xion led him through a few hallways, up several stairs (Riku was beginning to wonder why they didn't just open a dark corridor) and around a few corners. She paused outside a door, and knocked before opening it. She stepped back, allowing the door to swing open as she motioned Riku inside. Hesitantly, he obeyed, glancing over to the thirteen year old kneeling on the bed and staring out the window. Her long, silver hair shifted as she turned her head to look at them with sky-blue eyes.

"Riku?" She shot to her feet and wrapped her arms around him. Riku returned the gesture.

"Rachael… I missed you."

"I missed you, too." She answered. Riku released her, stepping back. Rachael swayed slightly, looking somewhat dizzy. Her brother picked her up and sat her on the bed, realizing how light she was. How long had she been back for? However long it was, she didn't seem to have eaten very well. She must've gotten through Death's slipping security. It seemed odd that he would let his 'victims' escape easily. There must've been a reason. But they could figure that out later.

"Are you hungry?" He asked her. Rachael nodded. "I'll go see if I can't get you something."

"Thank you."

Riku nodded, leaving the room. He closed the door behind him.

"I went for a walk in Hyrule Field," Xion told him as they walked towards the kitchen, "and found her wandering out there. She was in a worse condition then than she is now."

"Thanks, Xion." Riku nodded.

At the kitchen, Riku grabbed something Link had called roast Cucco (it tasted rather close to chicken, thus making Riku wonder why everything tastes like chicken… except Red Rooster…) and put it on a small plate. He then took the plate back up to Rachael's room. She took it thankfully, eating away at the food. Riku sat beside her, watching.

"Thank you." She said when she finished, setting the plate on the end table. Riku smiled, putting his arm around her shoulders.

"Don't mention it."

* * *

Roxas, who had been allowed by Ventus to awaken for awhile, walked through the hallway with Riku, discussing anyway to lure the Organization out. They paused outside Tara's room. The door was open, and she and Sarah were sitting on the bed, the brunette playing on her blue, first version Nintendo DS.

"Yes, that's the final form defeated!" She cheered. She high-fived Sarah.

"What're you two doing?" Roxas asked.

"Playing Kingdom Hearts: 358/2 Days." Tara answered. Curious (and deciding that it was, ultimately, harmless), Roxas and Riku walked over to watch. "And thus does Xion die." Tara muttered. Roxas watched the cutscene, memories awakened inside of him.

"_Never forget that." _

"_No! Xion! Who else will I have ice cream with?" _

At this, Roxas turned bright red, and Sarah and Tara cracked up laughing. Riku arched an eyebrow at Roxas, who sighed, turned, and slammed his head on the wall.

"I still recon the Kairi comment Naminѐ made to Xion completely ruined whatever good things she had left." Sarah remarked. Tara scoffed.

"Xion's awesome! Don't diss her!"

Sarah blinked at her. Tara muttered an apology.

"I got to talk to Bekkah while we were on Earth. It's like the game-speech thing. Start playing a game for too long, start talking like the characters."

"That explains the random 'yo' after you watched Advent Children…" Sarah remarked.

"What can I say? Reno and Rude Comic Relief is hilarious." Tara shrugged. "Now, when I start quoting the Japanese, then there's a problem." She paused. "OH! You know that the Japanese teacher doesn't know what 'namine' means?"

Riku arched an eyebrow. "Wave, isn't it?"

"Yeah, but he told Ve- Kyle, I mean, that he didn't know what it meant. I had to keep myself from laughing. It was so hard." She paused. "He also speaks German… and French… and he's also the English teacher…"

"Sounds slightly ironic." Roxas remarked.

"Mhm." She paused. "I wanna know how he pulls that off. I can barely remember my Katakana. I do know some Hanakotoba, but that was a personal interest from the Aster Tataricus."

"The what?" Sarah glanced at her.

"Aster Tataricus – Shion in Hanakotoba. It's used for 'remembrance'"

"What is 'Hanakotoba'?"

"Japanese Floriography."

"What?"

"The language of flowers." Tara sighed. "For example, a bluebell means 'grateful', while a carnation means 'disappointed'." She frowned. "Speaking of Asters, that's my birth month flower..."

Riku sighed, rolling his eyes. His attention was diverted when Rachael bolted into the room.

"It's Luxord!" She cried. The group put down whatever they were doing and bolted down into the courtyard, Tara grabbing her Ipod on the way out.

As Rachael had said, the gambler was standing there in the courtyard, seeming unarmed. Everyone knew better than that, though. Link was already waiting for them a good distance from the Gambler of Fate. Also arriving were Axel, Terra, Aqua, Adam and Kyle.

"Another one?" Terra muttered.

"Let's play a game," Luxord spoke up, "shall we?"

"Oh great." Tara muttered. "Luxord's games are never fun."

"On the contrary," Luxord responded, "I find them to be quite amusing." He held his palm out towards her. Tara yelped as she left the ground, and what felt like an electric shock went through her body. She went limp in mid-air, suspended by invisible chains. Luxord flicked his wrist to the side, and Tara skipped across the ground like a stone in water until she stopped at his side. Her Ipod had been dropped beside Sarah.

Now Kyle and Sarah were both pissed off. Everyone else was annoyed, sure, but Kyle and Sarah were both good friends with Tara and they did NOT like anyone touching their friends.

Kyle ran towards Luxord, his hand clenched into a fist as he went to punch the Nobody. Luxord blocked it with an Ace of Spades, before darting around Kyle to grab his fist and twist his arm, painfully, around his back. He let out a cry of pain. This caused Adam to dart forwards and try to punch the gambler. He didn't get a chance.

A black dragon, about thirty meters in length, with four legs and wings currently had Luxord pinned to the ground under his right foreclaws, growling at him. Luxord stared at the dragon emotionlessly, before smirking.

"December 22nd is coming early, isn't it?" The Gambler of Fate remarked, before he sunk into a dark corridor in the ground, which closed after he vanished.

"Kyle?" Adam questioned hesitantly. The dragon looked at him curiously. "What happened, man?"

"What do you mean?"

Riku paused. Kyle's voice was coming out of that large lizard, and the boy was nowhere to be found. There had only been a split second between when one was there and then the other…

"Wait." Link spoke up. "So, the kid turned into the dragon. Can he turn back?"

Riku hadn't thought of that.

Kyle stepped towards Tara, gently rolling her onto her back to make sure she was alright. Sarah was already beside her. Riku was hesitant, unsure if Luxord had hung around or not.

"Like I said…" Tara muttered, "Luxord's games are never any fun." She yelped as Sarah smacked her arm. "That hurt." She whined, sitting up slowly.

Link looked over at Riku. "Did you hear what the guy said?"

"Hmm?" Riku blinked. "What do you mean?"

"He said something like 'December 22nd is coming early'. Any clue what it means?"

"Not a one."

"Maybe," Aqua suggested, "it means something to them."

"Hopefully."

* * *

Riku glanced into Tara's room, checking to see if the girl was alright. She looked like she was a bit out of it, but that was normal for her. She was lying on the bed, staring off at nothing.

"You alright?"

"Hmm?" Tara glanced up, before sitting up. She nodded. "Still recovering from being electrocuted, but I'll survive." She answered. "How's Kyle?"

"Still can't figure out how to turn him back."

Tara sighed.

"Tara, Luxord said something to Kyle. He said 'December 22nd is coming early'. Any idea what it means?"

She shook her head. "No. I'll do a search on my computer for anything about it, but I dunno." She answered. Riku sighed.

"Figures."

"Sorry. My brain's fizzed right now." She apologized.

"Not your fault."

Tara simply laid back down. Riku sighed and walked away. He needed to talk to the others to see where they were going to go from here.


End file.
